Crossed Paths
by badwolf21
Summary: "If you remember one thing, it's that the little decisions bring us to the places that we were always meant to be". Tensions run high as the Torchwood team has to work with the police officers of Broadchurch to stop an alien threat.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is crossover event from Torchwood, Broadchurch and Doctor Who - three shows that I adore. Hope you like it.**

* * *

She had a theory.

A theory that could make her seem crazy to other people.

A theory that would seem completely barmy, but she swore it was valid.

The universe was against her. Today of all days and the universe was against _her._ Someone with special powers was doing this on purpose. She must have pissed off someone. Maybe it was telekinesis. An alien with telekinesis that watched her and knew exactly what to do to wind her up. As if she didn't have enough stress at the moment. All the good things she has done and this happened.

"Where the hell did I put it?" she shouted and then realised there was no one around to answer her.

One minute, her phone was on the chair and the next it was gone. Rose could feel herself getting more and more frustrated. She searched through her drawers, flinging clothes behind her, desperate to find a stupid thing she had not moments ago.

The silly thing was that it was only a small two bed room flat. It couldn't have gone far, it's not like it grew legs and walked off. Then again… stranger things have happened.

Rose trudged into the living room, her eyes surveying the room. She fell back on the sofa and felt something poking her in the back. She turned and found her phone behind a cushion. She sighed, exasperated, but nearly jumped as the phone rang in her hands. Rose took a deep breath and answered.

"Hello?" she asked.

"There you are. I've been trying to reach you for days now" Said Jackie's shrill voice on the other end.

"Sorry mum, I've been busy"

"Working again, I presume. You know that boss of yours works you too hard" Jackie said.

Rose knew this conservation was going to take a while by the tone of her mother's voice. She walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard door, searching for coffee. She bit her lip when she saw that the cupboards were bare all except a couple of tins of soup. _I really need to go shopping_, she thought. She silently cursed all the takeaways she'd be having recently.

"He doesn't and I love my job" Rose protested, closing the cupboard. She knew her mother would ignore her. Tyler women were always very stubborn.

"You really need to come home and see your mother. Mickey really wants to see you. We both miss you..."

Rose listened carefully but she had heard it all before. A worried mother that didn't understand the new direction of her daughter's life. Her eyes glanced around the room, until they fell on the spare bedroom door. She stepped closer, while Jackie was chatting away on the other end of the line. Rose came to the door and inside was a couple of cardboard boxes. Her heart sank and feelings of dread flooded her mind.

"Rose? Rose, are you listening to me?"

Rose shut the door and returned her attention to the phone call. "Yeah, I'm here"

"Sweetheart, I know you have a really difficult time in the last few months, but this move was so sudden…" her voice trailed off, trying to think of what to say next.

"I appreciate your concern but I'm fine. I will be home soon and I like it here. It's good for me. It's just … there's nothing there for me anymore not since" Rose pulled a strand of her hair behind her ears and added "I love you and I miss you so much. But I'm better off here"

There was knock at the door and Rose spun around. "Mum, I have to go. I'll talk to you later on"

Jackie sighed, giving up. "Okay. Love you too".

Rose hung up the phone and answered the door. Standing there was Captain Jack Harkness with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Hello, boss" Rose said, smiling back at him "Got another case for me?"

* * *

Ellie Miller was many things. Brave. Smart. And thankfully tolerate of her boss's annoying habits. Everyone else in the office found him to be… well something that should never be used in polite conservation. But his time in Broadchurch had changed him for the better. But now and again she could still throw something at his head, if the wind blew in the right direction.

Ellie found him in his office, flicking through his small, black notebook.

"Remind me why I stayed here?" he said, taking off his glasses, sounding more irritated than usual.

"The sea air?" Ellie suggested.

Alec glared at her, raising an eyebrow. Ellie stepped closer, trying to hide her smile.

"Miller, tell me we have something."

"Yeah, we just got a missing person's call"

Alec jumped to his feet, grabbed his jacket and left his office before Ellie could say another word.

"You coming?" she heard him shout.

"Some things never change" Ellie mumbled.

* * *

Rose and Jack were arm in arm, strolling down the streets of Cardiff, completely relaxed. No one could have guessed what they did from day-to-day. The pressures they had to endure. All the tough decisions that had to be made, which is one of the reasons Rose was glad that she was not in charge. She had a lot of respect for Jack.

"So, Jackie, still kicking up a fuss then?" Jack asked her.

"Yeah, I feel guilty for leaving her alone and everything. I mean with dad gone, it's just her"

"I thought she was dating some guy called Howard?"

"Nah, that ended last Christmas" Rose told him. "Difference of opinion, she said"

"Oh, I'll bet"

Rose nudged him in the side playfully as they got closer to the docks.

* * *

Inside the hub, Gwen was typing furiously on the computer keyboard.

"I don't think that will make the system work any faster" came a sarcastic voice behind her.

Gwen spun around to see Ianto wheeling towards her. Her gaze wandered towards the faded cuts on his face down to his broken leg and then to the wheelchair that he was forced to stay in for the time being. She winced at the memory, remembering how much pain he was in.

"Gwen, I'm up here" he retorted, pointing to his face. She smiled at him and returned to the computer screen.

"What are you looking at?"

"Something I think Jack needs to see… I just need to…"

Before she could complete her sentence, she heard the familiar American accent in the distance.

"… And that's when I said a fire extinguisher would never work". Jack entered the room with Rose next to him, both giggling at his story.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear" said Ianto.

Jack grinned and kissed the top of Ianto's head. Rose strolled next to Gwen staring at the screen. "What's this?"

"Trouble" Gwen replied.

Jack placed his hand on Ianto's shoulder, stroking it softly, but his eyes were on the girls. "Well, trouble is my middle name"

Gwen frowned at him and his grin faded, becoming more serious. "Okay, what is it?" Rose pointed at the screen and gaped at the images that were now loading.

"Oh, my…" she held her hand to her mouth.

Jack dashed to the screen. His eyes widened, alert. This was no longer a laughing game. "Just another day at the job".

* * *

Not too far away, a blue car pulled up into a quiet street. Alec and Ellie stepped out and trudged towards a small house. In the distance, an elderly woman was talking to her neighbour, but as soon as they saw the two officers their gaze became dark and uninviting.

Alec knew to ignore it but Ellie is still getting use to the town's opinion of her. The murder of Danny was nearly a year ago and she was still being judged by the actions of her ex-husband. Hearing the whispers, she quickened her pace and led the way to the front door.

"Don't let it in" Alec muttered.

"How can I not?" Ellie retorted.

She knocked and waited for an answer. A couple of minutes later, a young woman with short red hair opened the door. Her eyes were puffy from where she had cried.

"Helen Jones?" asked Ellie, her voice calmer. She needed to keep her professional attitude.

The woman nodded and Ellie entered the house first. Alec turned to see the neighbours glaring at him, mumbling to each other. He stared back for a second and followed Ellie. _All part of the job_, he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose stared at her watch and then to the door. _He's taking his time, _she thought. She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. Images of the last few years drifted through her mind. Memories of her once normal life, living with her mum, going to work and how it all changed so quick. But for the better, one day changed her life forever. She smiled to herself, feeling the memories warming her heart.

_Rose, sometimes it feels like the whole world is against you. Fighting back seems futile and yet we still plan ahead. If you remember one thing, it's that the little decisions bring us to the places that we were always meant to be. Don't you think? _

"Rose? Rose?!"

She jolted awake to see Ianto watching her. "Are you okay?" his voice was filled with concerned. Rose nodded just Gwen and Jack entered with a pile of folders in their hands.

Jack stood at the front of the conference room while the rest of the team took their places. "We've found CCTV footage of this man near a nightclub on the high street at 4am this morning". He said, indicating the screen behind him.

The screen flickered and showed the image of a tall hooded figure standing a few feet away from where the camera was. Jack pressed a button on a small remote and the image zoomed in slightly, but there was no clear view of the alien's face.

"Watch closely". The team gapped at the clip, astounded as the hooded figure disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

"How did he…?" Ianto began.

"We don't know. But we can confirm that this alien hasn't come through the rift".

"A few minutes before this was captured on film, a body was found a couple of streets away" Gwen told the rest of the team. "The victim is Stewart Hallway. He was forty-two, married with two small children, worked as a chef a couple of miles away. What was left of his body you saw in the images from earlier. The police were able to match the dental records"

Rose felt her stomach turn as remembered the images from earlier. _How could anything…_

"We've seen worse." Jack said, his voice cold, not wanting to get distracted.

"Have we?" asked Gwen, looking at the images again.

"Poor family" Rose muttered before turning to Jack "You think this hooded creature killed Hallway then?"

"We need to investigate. It's definitely a teleporter, but when he disappeared it gave off an energy signature"

"I've set the computers to trace the signature and we can find out where it has moved on to" said Ianto, feeling slightly proud that he can still contribute to the team "The computers should tell us within the next half an hour".

Gwen stood up and moved closer the screen examining the footage. "We'll need to check to see if it came here recently. Hopefully we can find the landing site"

Rose picked up a folder and scanned all the information from the police report. But something was in the back of her mind, picking away. Something didn't feel right.

"Why Earth?" she asked. "I mean they are hundreds of other planets out there, Jack. Why specifically Earth?"

"Maybe it was nearest?" suggested Gwen.

Jack gazed at Rose, and shrugged. "Guess that will be one of the questions you can ask it, Rose".

* * *

Ellie glanced around the small living room, taking in the sight of a broken woman's home. Her eyes landed on a picture of Helen and her boyfriend. He was a large bloke about twenty stone and his arm was around her. They looked happy but Ellie knew that sometimes there were secrets under the smiles.

Various scenarios ran through her head, maybe he was staying elsewhere and forgot to call or maybe there was a miscommunication? She could feel herself becoming more cynical as did this job or maybe that was because of her boss' influence. She wasn't sure.

"When was the last time you saw…" Alec checked his notes "Billy?"

"Two days ago" Helen sobbed, wiping her eyes with a tissue. "He told me that he was going to the pub with the lads after work. Drinks to celebrate his friend's leaving do. He usually stays out late"

"You didn't notice him coming back in?" Alec asked.

"I work as a A&E nurse and I working the night shift for the couple of weeks. By the time I come back in, he would have already gone to work. But then I got a call from his friend Gary and he said he didn't show up that morning"

Alec scribbled down his notes. "Is it possible that he stayed over someone else's?

Helen shook her head and continued to sob into her tissue.

"Have you had any difficulties lately? Any arguments? Has something happened to make him want to have space from you?"

Ellie glared at her colleague for his subtle approach. Before she could apologise for Alec's rude phrasing, Helen carried on talking.

"We had a fight. It was nothing though. A joke at first. We've been together for a while now and I asked when he was going to pop the question and then it all kicked off".

"How did you leave things?" Alec inquired.

"We talked. I thought we were okay. He wo… wouldn't just leave." Helen broke down in tears and rested her head on her knees.

Alec was never good with these sort of situations, that is what Ellie was good at. People was never his thing, even when he genuinely try. Ellie sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"People sometimes do things we can't understand" Ellie told her.

* * *

"Hold on, why am I staying here?!" demanded Gwen.

Jack crossed his arms. "Because I need you here"

"Why? It would be better if I came along" Gwen's voice was getting louder and Ianto sensed that would not be fixed easily.

Rose stepped into conference room and the tension hit her like a blow to the stomach. Jack and Gwen spun around to her, looking angry until she held up four mugs.

"Cup of tea, anyone?" she asked.

Gwen practically snatched a mug from her hands, not meaning to, but Jack was being unreasonable again. She took a sip of her tea, feeling it relaxing her but not quickly enough.

"Jack, I've been on this team longer than Rose and I should go with you"

"Rose has been on this team for a while now. She can handle herself. She proved that more than once"

They were acting as if she couldn't hear them or was even there, which annoyed Rose. She opened her mouth to argue her case, but then saw Ianto from the corner of her eye shaking his head and then return to his tea.

"What's the real reason Jack?" Gwen asked.

"Someone needs to stay here with Ianto"

"I don't need a babysitter!" snapped Ianto.

Jack's face soften, and he walked towards Ianto. "I know that but I would feel better if someone stayed with you. After what happened it would put my mind at ease"

"It still doesn't explain why Rose can't stay here instead of me" Gwen said.

"I'm in charge"

"So, my opinion means nothing?"

"I never said that!"

"So, what the hell Jack?"

Rose scrunched up her eyes trying to concentrate, but the noise around her was getting too much. The tension was building, oh today was not _her_ day. "Just stop it!" She slammed her hand on the table which effectively shut up them up. "We're a team. Bickering is not going to help anyone"

Jack took a deep breath and met Gwen's glare. "Yes, you have been here longer. But Rose doesn't have the same computer skills you have. I need you and Ianto to watch that signature. Rose is brilliant field agent and I need her with me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir" Gwen left the office, not looking back.

* * *

After a few more questions Alec and Ellie left Helen's home and made their way back to the car. The judgmental neighbours were no longer standing in their gardens and a feeling of relief washed over Ellie. At one point these people were her friends but at the moment the only person she could talk to about _that_ case was Alec.

They remained quiet until they got back to the station car park. Ellie took a deep breath and Alec watched her, concerned.

"I told you not to let it in"

"It's not that" she responded.

"Then what?"

"That poor girl, she's alone. No family to help her through this"

"Miller, we can't…"

"She has no idea. I mean what if he's just left her and not said anything"

"Miller…"

"I mean what sort of coward…"

"Ellie, stop it!" Alec's voice became louder, cutting off her thought trail. "You're projecting"

Ellie shook her head, trying to regain her composure. She knew this was nothing like Joe but the memory still stung. The whispers through the streets, the friends she had lost like Beth. She stayed in Broadchurch because it was her home. She thought people would understand, they've known her for years, but they didn't. Being met with a constant reminder was emotionally draining.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Jack and Rose were on the road following the trace. Jack was driving while Rose was reading the map giving directions, while on the phone to Ianto.

"Okay, thanks" She hung up and turned to Jack. "He said the trace has stopped on the coast, a place called Broadchurch. Broadchurch? Does name ring a bell to you?"

"Nope" Jack said, eyes focused on the road.

There was an awkward pause, something that never happened to them before. Usually Rose couldn't get Jack to shut up. Rose leaned back in her chair, glaring at Jack before nudging him in the ribs.

"Do you mind? I'm driving."

"I don't want to get between you and Gwen. She's right. She is the more experienced" Rose said.

"Doesn't matter"

Rose put down the map, awaiting a better explanation. She didn't have time for mind games. "Jack?!"

"It's nothing against Gwen. It's not about what happened with Ianto" He paused, but his words still didn't make Rose feel any better. "But you work differently to her. Your instincts are different. You see things that no one else does". Rose scratched the back of her neck, confused. "It's one of the reasons I asked you to join us".

"So, like a fresh perspective?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly"

"And this has nothing to do with what today is?" Rose asked, fiddling with her fingers.

"No" Jack said firmly, but then his tone became more gentle. "Rose?"

Jack looked up and gave her a half-smile, hoping to ease the situation. "I miss him too".

Rose bit her lip, as tears welled in her eyes. "You need to take the next left"


	3. Chapter 3

Certain jobs were exhausting, whether it was because you were arguing with your boss, dealing with complex situations or trying to make sure that your world did not revolve around your job. For Gwen it was a combination of all three.

A "regular person" would try to use this time to overcome the situation and deal with it in the appropriate manner, but since her body was being fueled by anger, she decided to use this time to shoot targets pretending they were Jack.

_Stupid. _

BANG.

_Ignorant. _

BANG.

_Bastard. _

BANG.

Gwen reloaded the gun and aimed it a target's head, her finger lingering over the trigger. She didn't hate Jack, far from it, but his tendency to abandon his team and pick them up when he felt like it was pushing her to the edge. Something or someone was always more important than them, heck, they didn't know everything about him until they were introduced to Rose.

Their friendship had been through a lot, both of them had said things they weren't proud of, but eventually they came back stronger. But in that moment, she could have shot him for real and not felt guilty.

"I don't think that's going to help"

Gwen lowered the gun and blew out her cheeks. "It helps me"

She spun around to see Ianto behind her with his arms crossed. The mystery of Captain Jack Harkness alluded those closest to him, even the man he claimed to love, but that never stopped Ianto from fighting his corner.

"He's not doing this to be spiteful. Today is hard day for them both"

Gwen placed the gun the table "I know that. But it feels like we are being left behind again. I just…" She rubbed her eyes, feeling her frustration infect her again. "I love Rose, I do. I think she's amazing but…"

"They have a history that we don't understand" Ianto offered.

"Yes"

Ianto wheeled closer to her and placed his hand over hers. "Jack feels guilty for Rose and what happened to her. They're both grieving. Jack lost his friend and she…"

"Yeah, I know. Let them get through today" Gwen said, leaning down to pull Ianto in for a hug.

* * *

A brand new case, a brand new headache. Alec flicked through the information he had received from Helen Jones, but something didn't add up. But thankfully the officers had been able to find Billy's friend Gary at the garage he worked at.

"We went out for drink in the pub down by the seafront, a place called the Three Sailors. We all left about three in the morning"

Alec nodded absorbing the information but the smell of spilt petrol was overwhelming his senses. He wrinkled his nose and carried on his interview. Behind him Ellie was looking around the small garage. Gary was the only friend of Billy's they could track down at the moment, but the information given didn't lead them to think that he was a guilty party.

"How did you get home?" Ellie asked, stepping closer to them.

"Me, Darren and Mick shared a taxi" Gary replied. "Billy walked home, said it would do him. Help sober him up"

"How many drinks did he have?"

Gary titled his head, scratching the back of his neck as the fuzzy night came back to him. "Four, maybe five beers"

"You haven't heard from him since?"

Gary shook his head. "Nope. Said goodbye and said we would see him in the morning, but he never showed. At first I figured he was hung over or something"

"Did he ever get into any sort of trouble?" asked Ellie. Gary looked confused. "Drunken fights?" she clarified.

"Nah, bit loud when the football was on, but that was about it"

Ellie opened her mouth to ask a question, when her phone rang. "Excuse me". and went outside.

"Did he tell you him and his girlfriend had an argument?" Alec asked.

Gary nodded and added "Yeah, he said something about marriage. Didn't want to rush. His parents were divorced when he was a kid, so he wanted to wait a bit longer. Marriage is a big commitment"

Alec scribbled in his notes, while his mind processed the information. He could picture the lads having a night out, but if something did happen to Billy and he was a loving boyfriend, then why didn't he call his girlfriend? Maybe he was attacked? But that didn't make any sense either. He was a big guy, bigger than most. It would take someone a similar size to hurt him and someone who was very strong.

Before Alec could ask another question, Ellie entered with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Hold on" he said to Billy and walked towards his colleague.

"Tell me there's good news?"

"They have found a body up on the cliffs" Ellie told him. She paused for a second before she could continue. "It could be Billy"

Alec's eyebrow shot up. "Could be? Aren't they sure?"

* * *

They finished their interview with Gary, careful not to mention anything about the discovered in case it wasn't his friend. They rushed to the car and arrived at the bottom of the cliffs. Alec and Ellie walked up the path and saw the familiar forensic team, and in front, an unfamiliar black car. Ellie stared at it for a second, it was a state of the art 4x4 but she had never seen that model before. The windows were blacked out and the it didn't have a license plate on the front. She ignored it for the moment and concentrated on the task in front of her. As they got closer they saw that Brian and his team were nowhere near the body.

"What the hell?" muttered Alec.

Brian looked up and looked relieved. "Am I happy to see you, DI Hardy"

"First time for everything" mumbled Ellie under breath, recalling his nickname for her boss not too long ago.

"Have you examined the body?" Alec asked.

Brian shook his head. "Not yet…"

"Well, why not I need to know if I have a missing person case or a murder on my hands?" Alec said, losing his patience.

"Just after we arrived that car pulled up" he pointed to the black car behind them. "They flashed their IDs and took control of the situation"

"Have you even seen the body?" Ellie asked.

"No, not yet" Brian answered.

Alec pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why not?" he demanded "What sort of incom…"

Ellie stepped in before someone got punched. "Hold on, sir"

"If you let me explain." Brian said, not appreciating Ellie's help. "They said they were special ops and they had access from above"

"What team?" asked Alec his voice becoming harsher.

"A team called Torchwood" he responded.

"Who the hell are Torchwood?!" shouted Alec.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey, I've changed the rating to M, because of the content of this chapter and what will be happening later on in the story. **

* * *

"I think we've annoyed the locals" said Jack, suppressing a giggle.

"We're only been here twenty minutes" Rose murmured, packing away the laptop.

"Has to be a record"

They returned to their work, examining the corpse in front of them. Being a part of Torchwood meant dealing with dead bodies, but it was something that Rose never got used to. The smell was the worst, wafting through the air making you feel unclean.

"Pass me that scanner, Rose"

She handed it over to Jack and there was a quiet bleeping noise as a red light shone from the machine, passing over the body. Jack studied the readings and shook his head. "Yep, same signature".

Rose listened to the commotion behind her, but the even louder voice of a thick Scottish accent stood out. She bit her lip and knelt beside her boss. "There's going to be trouble" she said in a sing voice.

Jack stood up and returned the machine to the medical box next to him. From the distance he could see the forensic team being yelled at by a thin, scruffy man and curly-haired woman. Jack couldn't help but grin, he loved annoying the police.

Rose watched his expression, shaking her head. "If I get arrested, my mother is going to kill you!"

Jack shrugged. "Before or after he does" He said, gazing at the two officers marching towards them.

Without saying a word, simultaneously they both stood in front of the corpse, knowing that the officers would never have seen anything like this before. They needed to prepare themselves.

"Excuse me, who do you think are?" Ellie said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Torchwood" Jack said as if it was obvious. "And you would be?"

"I'm DS Ellie Miller and this is DI Alec Hardy". she replied. Alec said nothing but his eyes focused on what they were trying to cover up. He stepped to the side but Rose noted his movements and followed, blocking a clear view.

Jack offered his hand to Ellie, smiling the famous Captain Jack smile. "Captain Jack Harkness" Ellie couldn't help but blush slightly and shook his hand.

"Stop it" Rose mumbled.

"And this is my colleague, the lovely Rose Tyler" Jack continued.

"Hello" Rose said, giving a friendly smile, silently praying that Jack wouldn't say the wrong thing.

Alec's eyes drifted upwards taking in Rose's appearance, her shoulder length blonde hair and her… surprisingly lovely smile. He coughed purposefully and the Torchwood dynamic duo turned their attention to him.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Examining the body" Jack replied.

"Under who's orders?"

"If I tell you, I'd have to kill you" he laughed but Alec's cold stare silenced him. "Buzzkill" he muttered under his breath.

Rose stepped in before the situation took a turn for the worse. "We haven't contaminated the body, if that's what you're worried about"

Alec glared at her. "Move back, I want to see"

"I don't think…" Rose started, but Alec stepped forward, his piercing gaze making the young woman back away.

Alec's eyes widened.

Ellie slapped a hand over her mouth "What sort of monster…?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

They gaped in horror at the stripped carcass in front of them. A blood trail stained the grass as it led to a pool underneath a pecked clean skeleton. The rib-cage had been cracked open to (by Alec's guess) pull out the internal organs. The smell of dried blood was overwhelming to them, forcing its way down their throats.

Ellie knew that this was the place that the body was killed or possibly eaten. Jack and Rose sympathised with them, and knowing that it was the same reaction they had earlier that day.

Ellie stepped back, gasping for air. "How could anything?" She looked to Jack for answers. "How did this happen?"

"We don't know" he simply answered.

Rose looked at Alec, his expression was cold, but not distant. She knew he was holding it in. She wasn't sure if it was the anger or the disgust of the crime, but she knew that he would do everything _humanly_ possible to catch the killer.

Ellie spun around and began to gag. Rose instinctively went to her side and patted her on the back. "Maybe we should get you back to your car" she suggested. She didn't wait for Jack to argue and led Ellie away from the corpse.

Both Alec and Jack watched them leave, anxious.

"We have all the results we need and your team can do their tests" Jack said, walking past Alec with the medical case in his hands.

"Hold on" Alec yelled.

Jack ignored him and continued on his path to his car. Alec saw Ellie sitting in their car, taking deep breaths, while Rose was comforting her. He only caught a brief part of their conversation, "… It's going to be alright…" before trying to catch up with this so-called Captain.

Jack placed the medical case back in the car before Alec managed to catch up with him. He could see the thunderous expression on his face and knew exactly how this was going to end.

"DI Hardy, I'm not trying to step on any toes. Let's try to be professional"

By the car, Rose saw Jack trying to reason with Hardy but her attention was focused on the shaken woman in front of her.

"You okay?" she asked.

Ellie nodded taking a sip of water from a bottle in she found in the side pocket. "I've never heard of Torchwood" she mumbled.

"We're not from around here" Rose answered.

"You're from London" It was a statement not a question.

"Yeah, born and bred"

"What are you doing here?"

Rose opened her mouth to answer but she heard the voices behind and assumed… no she _knew_ that Jack had said the wrong thing.

"Torchwood has no authority here!" Alec shouted, eyeing the man in the military coat.

Rose trudged over to the bickering pair and Ellie quickly followed.

"Hey!". At first Alec assumed it would be Ellie shouting, but was stunned when he saw Rose walking closer. "Let's try to remember that an innocent person is dead"

Alec nodded. "Yes… we need to let our team…"

"No need" Rose cut in, "We identified the body as Billy Hanson just before you arrived"

Alec raised an eyebrow at her, puzzled. "How?"

"We matched the dental records already" answered Jack as Rose stood next to him.

Alec placed his hands on his hips, hardly believing what he was hearing. "You can't…"

"Spec ops" Rose clarified. "We get this information quicker than you. Stops any sort of delays"

Suddenly the thought of Helen hit Ellie. She had no idea, absolutely no idea. Ellie mentally kicked herself remembering how she judged Billy and called him a coward. Once the findings had been confirmed from a trusted source, Helen would need to be notified. Alec eyed both of the newcomers suspiciously. He didn't like not being kept in the loop.

Ellie sensed Alec's growing temper. "Would you both be willing to come to the station so we can talk about this properly?"

Years of working together, Jack and Rose didn't need to be telepathic to know what they were both thinking and the same time said "Of course".

Alec scowled, not sure who he was more annoyed at the intrusion of an unknown team or that Ellie was so calm.

"I hope this isn't an arrest, DS Miller?" asked Jack, in his most charming voice.

"Not yet it's not!" snapped Alec.

Jack frowned and pouted slightly. Rose shook her head, disapprovingly. _Jack, I love you, but need to know when to shut up. _


	5. Chapter 5

Alec Hardy was not a patient man.

He was not a particularly happy man.

Good days were rare.

And his temper was not to be tried.

This Torchwood team had come from nowhere and belittled his authority. The last time Ellie saw her boss this pissed off was when she found that her nephew Oliver had posted Danny's death on Twitter. Alec stormed into his office and went straight to his computer with Ellie not too far behind.

"Who the bloody hell do they think they are?!" he yelled.

"Sir, they are coming in a couple of hours to talk. At least they're cooperating with us." She reasoned, closing the door behind her.

"Don't defend them, Miller!"

"I'm not!" Ellie said, her voice becoming louder to compete with his "But they seem like good people."

"Who are they? What is this "special access" they have? What do they know that we don't?" Alec began pacing, his thoughts whirling in his head.

"Sir, you're doing it again." Ellie said, rolling her eyes.

Alec groaned, rubbing his head. "Find out who they are. I want to know everything about this Captain Harkness and …"

"Rose Tyler?" asked Ellie, assuming he had forgotten her name. But the truth was he hadn't forgotten, he remembered all too well.

"Yes. Criminal records, everything. Find out what Torchwood is. I want to know everything before they stroll in."

* * *

"We can't tell them everything, Jack." Rose stated, dropping a bag on the sofa.

"I'm aware of that, Miss Tyler." he shouted back.

They knew that this investigation was going to take longer than they originally anticipated, so Ianto booked a rental cottage for them near the beach. It was a quiet, two bedroomed place that would be their temporary base of operations. Jack was annoyed at Rose that she had called dibs on the master bedroom but then realised that her window was opposite the local pub, and knew that it would be noisy. So, without making any more fuss, he accepted her decision.

Rose took off her leather jacket and examined her new surroundings. The house was clean and tidy, which she was most thankful of as she had spent some time in less than adequate places when she used to travel.

Jack entered the room, looking happy. Rose frowned at him. "What?" he asked.

"What are we going to do?"

"Well, I'm take a shower."

"Jack? Be serious." She said, falling back on the sofa.

He shrugged, debating their options. "We tell them that we are an investigating team from Cardiff. We specialise in "unique" cases and that we can be of assistance."

"Since when do we work with the police?" she asked.

"Normally we don't, but this Hardy guy isn't going to drop this. He's like a dog with bone."

"So, we lie." Rose clarified.

"No, we just don't tell them the whole truth"

"That's lying!"

"I prefer to think of it as creative restructuring." he smirked.

Rose couldn't help but let out a small giggle. "Okay, but they think they're looking for a human, when in fact they are chasing an alien threat who has killed two people already…" Her voice trailed off as something clicked in her mind. The pieces were coming together.

"Rose?" said Jack, puzzled.

"It doesn't make sense," she pondered out loud. "Think about it. Why kill someone in Broadchurch two nights ago and then leave for Cardiff and kill someone there and then come back?"

Jack knew in moments like this it was best to let her mind wander, allow her to follow her instincts until eventually she came up with answer. The ordinary shop girl turned into Earth's defender. A twist of fate that sent on her on the right path.

"Unless there is something here, maybe? Something important?" she continued, leaning back "Maybe something that needs protecting, so it had to come back?"

Jack smiled at her, marvelling how good she was at her job. "And you wonder why I brought you along?"

He pulled her in for a hug, and kissed the top of her head.

"Get Gwen on the phone, tell her to see if there have been any other attacks matching the one in Cardiff and to keep an eye on that energy signature". He began to turn away when another thought struck him. "Actually, research Broadchurch too. See if anything unusual has happened here in the last couple of years"

"Yes, boss" said Rose, giving him a salute.

* * *

Computer research was dull. Even on the most interesting cases, research was dull. Looking through endless files of police reports, energy statistical analysis or boxes of remnants of old spaceships that had fallen through the rift, was something that Gwen hated.

Getting out, talking to people, being involved in the investigation was what made the job fun. All the running about, feeling the wind in your hair. The thrill of the chase.

However instead of doing all the fun part of her job, Gwen was stuck in the conference room reading a stack of files on the landings in the UK from the Torchwood archives. She stretched her arms above her head, feeling the urge to yawn. Aiming for the bin, she slung the folder across the room, trying to get it to land it the box, but it missed, and landed next to it, spilling out its contents on the floor.

Pulling herself off the seat, she groaned, not noticing Ianto wheeling in.

"Found anything?" he asked.

"Nope. These are the folders from 1900 – 1950." she stated, exhausted. "Why the hell have they not been transferred to digital files yet?"

"We've been busy." Ianto replied. "I have the computers scanning and cross referencing medical records, police reports, blogs, YouTube videos and new reports from the last five years, so we can't miss anything."

"How long do you reckon it's been here?"

"Not for long, otherwise these killings would have started ages ago, I imagine." he answered. He watched Gwen pick up the folder, muttering under her breath and decided he couldn't wait any longer. She was his best friend, he wanted it to her.

Putting on a brave face he asked "Gwen, it's been six weeks since…" he pointed at his leg, his voice was shaky but determined. "Can you …?"

Gwen nodded, admiring his bravery. "You don't want to wait until Jack comes home?"

"No, I need to see what is going on."

"Okay. Meet in the medical bay."

After sawing of the plaster on Ianto leg's, Gwen gaped at what was underneath. Ianto stared at his leg, feeling stronger every day, he tried wiggling his toes, but his body didn't comply.

"These things take time, sweetheart" she said, reassuringly. Gwen read the results of his scan, absorbing the information. _He had to be patient, _she thought, _Why do these things always happen to the good ones?_ Her gaze was drawn to the scar on his leg. A distinctive red bite, eight deep puncture marks that will haunt him for years to come. Ianto moved his hand, allowing himself to touch the wound for the first time since it happened. The skin was soft, but tender. The pain of memory made him angry rather than depressed.

"How much longer do I have to stay in the chair?" he asked, his voice bitter.

"Ianto, the bone in your leg is healed. But what happened to you will… I mean it take longer for the muscle in both your legs to heal. It will be worth it. To see the look on Jack's face when you can walk again." she said, trying to raise his spirits.

Ianto nodded, removing his hand from the scar. "Yeah, these things take time."

* * *

Rose pulled the zipper of her jacket up, rubbing her hands together to get warm. The cold breeze blew past. _Should have brought gloves, or maybe a better coat._

She watched Jack by the car, on the phone to Ianto as they updated each other on the progress they were making. Prepared for anything the coppers could throw at them, Rose and Jack rigorously went through their story before they left.

She looked up at the daunting police building, praying that Ellie was the one to interview her. It wasn't that she disliked DI Hardy but there was something about him that, she couldn't quite place her finger on. Something that was different about him.

_Come on, Jack. Hurry up. _Rose moved closer to the doors, but still in Jack's eye line when the door was thrown open. She spun around to see DI Hardy standing there with his arms crossed.

"In your own time" he grumbled.

"Bit keen." Rose joked "I thought you wanted to interview me and my colleague, not just me?"

Alec looked away. "We need to talk to you both."

They gazed at each other, seeing themselves properly since the their meeting on the cliffs. Rose could feel the intensity burning through her but instead of turning away she returned the look. _Something different_, she thought. Alec broke the eye contact first and swallowed thickly. Rose shook her head, she bit her lip trying not to laugh at the officer. _Oh, Jack and his bad influence. _

Alec watched her, puzzled by her reaction. "What?"

Rose stepped towards him, still fighting the urge not to chuckle. "You're very serious, aren't you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "This is a serious case, if you haven't noticed?"

"I have, but you're…" her voice trailed off. She titled her head, trying to think of the right word. But before she could finish her sentence, she heard Jack's footsteps.

"Shall we?" Jack said. In his hands was the equipment they had earlier on the cliffs. Sharing the information would bring them closer to solving the case or so they hoped.

Alec opened the door for them both. Jack being Jack stepped past Rose and strolled in declaring "Age before beauty" Rose gave into temptation, giggling at Jack's statement. Nevertheless her laughter quickly subsided, when she saw the bemused look on Alec's face. She murmured "Sorry" before following her friend inside.

Alec stared for a second, the sound of her laugh, imprinted in his mind. His lips twitched, resisting to smile at the peculiar blonde woman in front. Nevertheless, he stepped into the station, banishing those thoughts to the back of his mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Bit longer this chapter but hopefully it works. Thanks to everyone who has followed or reviewed the story, it means a lot. **

* * *

_After a few hours of searching, they came up with nothing. _

_Absolutely nothing. _

_No one had even heard of Torchwood. They asked at nearby stations, around the office. At one point a younger officer thought it was the name of a band until Alec politely corrected him. _

_Ellie ran their names through the database and discovered information on the individuals, but nothing on the team as whole. She still believed that they would be an asset to them, despite Alec's claims. She took the files to her boss, hoping that she could change his mind. _

_"Neither one of them has a criminal record. In fact, Captain Harkness was in the army up until eight years ago." Ellie explained. _

_"What about Miss Tyler? What do we know about her?" _

_"She worked in a department store in London for a few years but went travelling abroad and…." Ellie hesitated, Rose was so nice to her on the cliffs, she didn't want to seem harsh or judgemental. _

_"And?" he prompted. _

_"She has very basic qualifications, nothing higher than GCSEs." _

_Alec scoffed. "Friends in high places it seems." _

_"Sir, maybe you should watch your tone when they arrive." Ellie warned. _

_"Why?" _

_"It looks as if a fight was going to break out and no offence, sir, but I think you would lose," Alec shot her daggers, but Ellie hastily added "I just mean … your…" She gestured at his chest. _

_"My heart is fine now, thank you, DS Miller." _

_She shrugged, recalling the operation a few months before, waiting in the ward for him while it was touch and go for a second, "I know, but still." _

_"Miller, if you want to have a conversation about professionalism, you might want to consider your behaviour." Alec muttered. _

_"Excuse me?" Ellie said, dropping the folder onto the desk. _

_"You were blushing at the enemy!" he pointed out. _

_"They are not the enemy. And I was not" She protested, even though she knew there was a little truth behind the accusation. _

_"Lair. Even his colleague told him to shut up." _

_"Must be good friends, just a joke to them." Ellie suggested, wondering what that was like, to have a boss with a sense of humour and not just when it suited him. _

_"Maybe. Tell me how does she get to talk to her senior officer like that and get away with it?" _

_"I know. Lucky cow!" Ellie muttered under her breath, thinking her boss hadn't heard her, but he did. _

_"Miller, something you would like to talk about?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. _

_"No. No, sir." Ellie mumbled, refusing to take him up on the offer. Let's not go down that rabbit hole, she thought. _

_Alec glimpsed at the clock on the wall behind Ellie. "Right they should be here now. I'm going to see if they are downstairs." _

_He strode past Ellie, down the stairs to the reception. He glanced up, half expecting them not to be there, when he eyes fell on a shaky Rose, obviously feeling the chill outside. Thankfully she had her back to him, Alec paused, stepped back, letting out a long shaky breath. _

_He ran his hands through his hair. Ellie might have blushed because of Jack, but Rose… Miss Tyler… was something else. She showed such compassion on the cliffs to someone she hardly knew and yet at the same time her strength for standing her ground against her boss was impressive. _

_He had to focus though, there was a case that needed to be solved. Alec marched towards the door pushing those new feelings into a box, firmly shutting the lid. _

* * *

Jack, Rose and Alec strolled into his office, ignoring the mummers of the other officers as they passed them. They found Ellie sitting on the sofa with a stack of folders next to her. Jack glanced over the folders as Ellie moved them out of his view, but he still caught his name of the top of one. He rolled his eyes, predicting they would check the system for them, but the thickness of the file meant they were doing a thorough job. Their team wasn't as flawed as he first thought.

"No tape then?" Rose said, surveying the room. .

"We aren't having a formal interview. This is not an arrest." Alec stated, returning to his desk.

"Not yet, it's not." Rose uttered, reminding him of their earlier encounter as she sat on the edge of the sofa. Tickled, Jack closed the door, trying to hide his smirk. Ellie supressed a smile at the comment, liking Rose more and more while Alec rolled his eyes, not amused.

Ellie stood up, crossed the office so the two teams were on the same side of the of the room. "Right, thank you for coming in," In the corner of her eye, she caught the equipment Jack had brought in. "What's that?"

Jack lifted the medical case on to the desk, opened the lid to reveal the a laptop, passing it to Rose. She loaded the crime scene photos of the first murder. They left their specialist equipment including the scanner back in the car, certain information need to be held back for their safety as well as the officers.

Rose placed the computer in front of the officers. "In the early hours of this morning this body was discovered. Same cause of death, but this murder took place near a nightclub in Cardiff." Rose informed them.

"Another victim?" Alec put on his glasses to examine the photos better, "Same killer?"

Jack nodded. "We are an investigating team from Cardiff. Torchwood specialises in unique cases. With murders like this, it helps to have an different insight." Technically it wasn't a lie, just a bit it vague. Jack saw the look in Alec's eyes as he glanced up from the screen, giving a sceptical look.

"What sort of insight?" asked Ellie.

"Fresh set of eyes can't hurt." Rose said, crossing her arms.

Knowing his charm would work better on Ellie rather than DI Grumpy, Jack suddenly declared that he needed a cup of coffee to work efficiently. Ellie walked him out the office and towards the kitchen. Rose stayed behind, suddenly regretting her decision to turn down a cup.

* * *

Ellie passed him a cup of hot coffee and Jack gratefully accepted. His plan to gain information from his new best friend was in full swing.

"Captain Harkness," Ellie started "how long has it been since you left the army?"

"Don't waste any time, do you?" he said, giving her a cheeky grin.

"Please just answer the question." said Ellie, not amused by his games.

Jack took a sip of his coffee, enjoying the hot liquid as it warmed him up. "Okay, since this isn't a formal meeting, call me Jack. And I left the army nearly eight years ago, but you already knew that." he said, still smiling.

"Why did you leave?"

"I wanted a change." he said with conviction.

"But you still use the title 'Captain'?"

"I've found it's a good conversation starter." he said, hoping to defuse the awkward tension. Two teams had come together, some sort of trust would have to be built, otherwise more problems would rise.

"When did you start to lead Torchwood?" she asked.

"About six months after I left the army." Jack said, leaning back against the counter.

Confident that he wasn't lying, Ellie didn't feel unnerved, in fact, she knew that despite his jokes and flirty attitude, he was skilled at his job. What did worry her was that they didn't seemed as fazed by the murders as they were. Like they did this sort of thing all the time. But how could that be possible? If there was any other killings similar to the one of the cliffs, they would know. Wouldn't they?

Jack could see the fear in her eyes. She was out of her depth. He'd read the articles on Danny's murder and her husband Joe, all the pain she must have gone through. He felt sorry for her and her situation but wouldn't sugar coat their current predicament.

"What are we dealing with?" she inquired "A psychopath? A serial killer?"

"We don't know." Jack answered.

"Don't give me that!"

"Ellie, I swear we don't know." he turned to face her properly. "But I promise that we are dedicated to finding out."

She sighed, looking at the officers in front of her, the lit screens, the constant clicking of their mouses, working hard on a case that she had no idea how to solve. Finally she said, "Not easy, this job."

Following her eye line. "It really isn't." Jack breathed, breaking the tension completely.

* * *

Meanwhile in the other room, Rose felt uneasy. Alec was reading from the laptop but his eyes kept darting up from the screen then back.

She had dealt with cranky men before but never like this. She remembered a grumpy, distant man until he opened up to her. Then his big grin and heart showed her everything he was about.

Looking at Alec now, she could see the tiniest similarities between him and that northern man she once had in her life. The same passion for their job, the motivation that drove them. Just like Jack, she had read the research on Broadchurch and what happened last year. She passed no judgement on him like the press did and wanted to form her own opinion.

Alec angrily tapped the keyboard. "What's wrong with this program?"

"Oh, yeah, it took me a while to work it out. Hold on." Rose stood next to him, leaning over slightly, her shoulder just brushing his, oblivious, as his breathing hitched. She typed in a complex sequence, which baffled Alec further. "It's strange thing, but it gets the job done."

Alec nodded. "How did you know that the body of Billy Hansen was on the cliffs?" he said abruptly, trying to distract himself and close that "box" once more.

"Honestly. We intercepted a call from the emergency services when it was phoned through." Rose said, as if it was nothing.

Alec glared at her. "Because of your 'special access'?" The words tasted foul in his mouth. _"Special", what makes them better than the rest of us? _he thought.

"Yeah, pecks of the job." Rose stated, clicking on the autopsy report that Ianto had emailed from earlier. Alec took no notice, but gaped at the mysterious girl in front of him.

How did a person so young get into such a specialist job? Connections maybe? Normally on a case like this, not that he ever had case as disturbed as this, but usually when interviewing someone, he could keep his concentration. But Rose was pushing all his buttons and she wasn't even trying. Those feelings he had banished earlier were stirring, waking up inside him. Alec scratched the back of his neck, not liking that it was changing his focus.

"What did you do before all this?" He gestured at the equipment.

"I travelled, all over really, had jobs in between." She said, smiling again.

"Tell me, how does a girl like you get this sort of job?"

Rose blinked_. Where did that come from?_ "What do you mean a 'girl like me'?"

"I mean how does a girl with hardly any qualifications get a job like this?" Alec pointed to the files that Ellie had earlier. "Your friend Jack to happen to give you this job?" His voice was cold and heartless.

"What are you insinuating, DI Hardy?" Her eyes narrowed, feeling her temper rising.

"How close are you exactly?" Alec queried, pulling off his glasses.

Rose scoffed, snatching the laptop of the desk. She spun around, clenching her fist. "Don't think you know everything about me because of what's in some file." She spat.

Jack and Ellie entered the room, laughing and giggling, but once he saw Rose's expression, a look he had only seen a few times in the years he had known her, he could have killed Hardy. Ellie looked at Alec, shaking head, already guessing what he'd gone and done.

"Jack. I'm going back to the car, before I say something that _will_ get me arrested." She grabbed the medical case from the desk and hauled it out the door.

Jack politely passed the coffee back to Ellie. "DS Miller, it has been a pleasure." He turned to Alec, resisting the urge to jump across the desk and strangle the bastard. He was always protective of Rose, but his presence was needed elsewhere. "Word of warning, Detective Inspector, don't piss off the Bad Wolf." He grinned at them both before leaving to chase down his friend.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for all the support so far, it keeps me a happy bunny. **

* * *

Ellie listened to Jack's footsteps as they faded away before turning her attention to her boss. She shut the door, set down the mugs, fearing that she might throw them at Alec's head. _One thing I asked him, one bloody thing._

"Don't look at me like that." Alec exclaimed.

"What did I say?" she said, not bothering to hide the anger in her voice.

"It was an innocent question." he lied.

"You are such a dickhead at times." Ellie remarked.

Alec disregarded the comment, continuing his argument. "How did they even know to come to Broadchurch, eh? They come from Cardiff, following the same killer. What do they know that they aren't telling us?"

"Well, thanks to you, we'll never know." Ellie said. "They were going to help us."

"Not if we do our jobs properly." he growled, leaving the office. "I'm going to get the confirmation on the body from the cliffs."

Alec stormed out the office, hearing the whispers of the other officers in the background. He ignored it, ploughing on through, but stopped at the bathroom. He stepped inside, grateful it was empty.

Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he cringed. _Bollocks._ He pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning back against the wall. Keeping people at arm's length was only going push them further away.

* * *

The next morning, Rose woke in bed, her body sprawled across the mattress. She sighed, remembering her actions from the night before. She raised a hand to her face, groaning about her choice of words. Maybe she could have handled the situation better.

Rose heaved herself up, crossed her legs, examining her new surroundings. In the corner of her eye, she saw the alarm clock.

8.06am.

Rose fell back against the pillows, feeling her mind drift again. It was too early to focus on anything. She looked to the empty pillow next to her, feeling the soft material. He should have been here, helping them. But for his memory, she would keep fighting.

After a couple of minutes of brooding, she left her room and found Jack in the living room.

"Morning." he said, handing her a cup of tea. "Was just about to wake you."

"How can you be cheery this time in the morning?" she grumbled.

"Practice," Jack grinned. "We need to spilt up. I'm going to take a better look on the cliffs and see if we missed anything. I need you to go around town, see if you can see anything suspicious."

"Why?"

"There's a killer that could be hiding in human form. The people of Broadchurch won't be aware of the murder just yet, the police are keeping it secret for now. The last thing they need is another horrific death on their doorstep, so you need to be a fly on the wall." Jack explained.

"What about Helen Jones, Billy Hansen's girlfriend?" Rose asked, sitting down on the sofa.

"Let the police handle that. We're here to catch this alien before they find it, otherwise there'll be more bodies to clear up…"

Rose stared at her cup, the rest of Jack's sentence blurred together and became background noise. It wasn't because of arrogance or a lack of sleep, it was because she felt empty.

This time yesterday she closed a door on those boxes. His face was fading from her mind and it killed her. The big grin, ears, the warmth of his heart. One year and one day, and she _still_ loved him.

The images of cold metal bodies marching through the corridors, the heavy footsteps, and the mechanical voices were forever branded in her memories. The echoes of scared workers, running for their lives for fear of being converted, but he saved them.

_"DELETE! DELETE!"_

He made his choice.

_"DELETE! DELETE!"_

She was left behind.

"Rose?"

She snapped awake. "Yeah?"

"You okay?" Jack studied her face, sensing the conflict within. He knew _exactly _where her mind was.

Rose nodded, taking a sip of her tea. Jack moved to the sofa, pulling her in for a hug. Feeling his concern, she rested her head against his shoulder. In the time they'd known each other, they had been through hell and back. The trust they shared meant that Jack or Rose could say anything freely. Better to share than bottle it all up.

"Ianto told me last night the bone in his leg has healed, but he's been left with a nasty scar." Jack informed her.

Rose wrapped her arm around Jack's middle, hugging him tighter. "He's lucky to have you."

"Is he? It was my fault."

Rose lifted her head. "We all make our choices. He chose to work at Torchwood. He knows the risks, we all do." she said in a firm voice.

Jack kissed her forehead. "You going to be alright?"

"I'm always alright." Rose smiled weakly, "Let's solve this case quickly, so we can go home."

* * *

"Hey, I got a present for you." Gwen shouted, walking towards the computers with their breakfast in her hands. Ianto was so engrossed in his computer screen, he didn't notice the smell of bacon wafting through the air.

"What have you found?" she asked.

He ignored her, the information on the screen loading in front of him was too important. He smiled to himself, hardly believing his luck. There was no other CCTV footage of the murder, the camera in the alley was broken. _Typical_, he thought, but that didn't stop him, it just meant he had to explore other options.

"Ianto, what have you found?"

"Something that is going to make Jack very happy." he said, snapping out of his daze.

"I don't need to know about your love life." she retorted.

Ianto chuckled and pointed to the screen. A police report loaded up, showing images of the crime scene.

Gwen sighed, feeling strange about hacking into the police system, even with Jack's influence. It wasn't that long ago that she was PC Cooper, strolling the streets, stopping everyday criminals, now she was working all hours of the days fighting creatures from other planets.

"In the report it states that Clare Foster found the body. But that's not the good news…"

"How can there be good news?" Gwen said, confused.

"She said she saw the figure standing over the body of Hallway and I quote 'disappeared in a puff of smoke…'"

"But he disappeared in a few streets away, we have the footage to prove that." Gwen interrupted.

"Can you let me finish?" he snapped.

"Sorry, please continue."

"It didn't disappear. There was something in its hands that did."

"It was carrying something?" she mumbled.

"Maybe it got spooked. Sent whatever it was away."

"Why would something like that get spooked?"

Ianto's eyes scanned the rest of the report. It stated that Clare saw the attacker but the description that she gave was sceptical because of the amount of alcohol in her system. It could have been shock, although Ianto suspected that she was telling the truth but the police didn't know how to process the information.

"Oh, she is such a clever girl!" Ianto shouted, causing Gwen to jump out her seat.

"Care to explain?" she said, recovering from his outburst.

"Rose! Jack called me yesterday and said something about theory she had," Gwen waved her hand, inviting him to continue. "She thought that maybe this alien was protecting something."

"Maybe more valuable than its own life," Gwen pondered. "Anything else in that report?"

"No. I can do one better though. I just found Clare Foster." he said, tapping the screen with his finger.

* * *

"Tom, don't do that with the ball." Ellie said.

"Sorry." he murmured.

Ever since Joe had left, Tom had developed the habit of bouncing a tennis ball against the floor and catching it. It helped him focus his thoughts, but also let out his frustrations. He usually bounced it against the garden shed in the back garden but since they were walking down the high street, the pavement was the new substitute.

They walked through the busy high street, weaving between the tourists that had returned to town for the warm weather. Freddie babbled in Ellie's arms, clutching a chocolate bar that was slowly melting in the heat.

"Don't do that against the walls when we get to your Aunt's house." Ellie said, trying to not to get too angry at him. Really, her anger was aimed at her boss and his actions from last night.

"I don't want to go Auntie Lucy's place. Can't I stay home on my own?"

"No, you're too young. Besides someone needs to look after your brother." she said, passing the newly opened news agents.

Since Joe had gone to prison, Ellie had relied on her sister for babysitting. The consequences being that Ellie and Tom had become closer. The last few months had been traumatising for them both, but with each other's help, they'd survived.

Freddie was too young to understand, but when he asked for his "daddy", it broke Ellie's heart. It didn't take long for the town to find out truth, Tom was being bullied at school and the last of his friends abandoned him because of what their parents had told them. He tried to stay strong, hence the tennis ball distraction.

"Oh, Freddie, look at the mess you made." Ellie said.

While his mother was distracted, Tom bounced the ball again, caught it, but saw Chloë and Beth walking in his direction. Beth glanced up, seeing the anxious boy in front of her, yet her gaze darkened, more so focused at her old friend cleaning her toddler.

Unsure of what to do, Tom backed away, unaware of the newsagent sign behind him. He turned swiftly, colliding into the sign, falling to the ground. His arm scraped against the edge, grazing it, leaving him with a red mark down the side, fresh blood peeping through.

The tennis ball fell from his hand, bouncing away from his eye line. Ellie rushed to her son's side.

"Oh, my God, Tom are you okay?" asked Ellie.

"I'm okay, Mum." he mumbled, trying not to wince at the pain. It wasn't a deep cut, but enough the take the first few layers of skin off.

Tom pulled himself to his feet, trying to not aggravate it anymore. Ellie glanced up, seeing Beth and Chloë whisper to each other before walking in the opposite direction. She looked around and saw a the townspeople stare at her, muttering under their breaths, their judgemental eyes hounding her.

_Don't let it in, don't let it in, _she thought. For once, Alec was right about something.

"Bet that stings, eh?" she asked him, pretending it was just her and her boys.

"A little bit. Did you see where my ball went?"

"Sorry sweetheart, I'll get you another one." Ellie said, glancing around her.

Passing Freddie to Tom, she pulled the sign back to its original place.

Among the tourists watching the accident, a hooded figure stood, silently counting the adults walking by, waiting for its next move. It watched Ellie and her children stroll away, titled it's head, revealing a razor-sharp smile glistening in the sun. From its pocket, a tennis ball fell out, bouncing down the road as the creature disappeared in a puff of smoke, ready to hunt it's next meal.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry this update has taken so long, been really busy. Hope you like it. **

* * *

When Gwen saw Clare Foster's driving license picture, she instantly thought she was meeting someone who was in her mid-twenties, but then doubled checked age, she find she was only nineteen.

In her picture, she looked bright and confident, however it paled in comparison when Gwen met her in person. The Clare standing in front of her was shaken, tired, and not full of life like most girls her age. Wrapped in a blanket, she avoided Gwen's gaze, but instead fixated on the black paint on her hands.

"Who are you?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I'm Gwen Cooper, from Torchwood. I need to talk you about the murder a couple of nights ago."

Clare shook her head, closing the door when Gwen blocked it with her boot. "I'm not a reporter, I promise." Clare stared at her, unsure.

"Look, Miss Foster, there is a killer on the loose and I believe your story. I want to find this person before anyone else gets hurt." Gwen told her.

Clare nodded, opening the door for her. She led Gwen into the living room, a large space, with modern furniture and marble fireplace. In the corner of the room was an old wooden desk littered with paints and used brushes.

"Where are your parents?" Gwen asked, her eyes glancing to the framed photos on the wall above the fireplace. A younger Clare was sitting in the middle of a middle aged couple with her arms wrapped around them both.

"At work. Is that a problem?" Clare asked, shifting anxiously.

"No, course not. Might be better actually. Did you talk to them about what happened?" Gwen said, hoping she had some sort of support from home.

Clare bit her lip, pulling the blanket tighter. "No, they thought… they didn't believe me."

"It's a hard thing—"

"I'm not crazy!" Clare cried abruptly, then fiddled with the corners of the blanket in her fingers, stunned by her own outburst.

"I know." Gwen said, reassuringly. _How could an adult expect to understand what was happening, let alone a teenager? A child?_ Gwen wondered.

"I'm not though. It was just so…"

"What?" Gwen prompted.

"It's eyes," Clare answered, sinking down onto the sofa. "Complete darkness. It…it was horrible."

Gwen sat down on the on a chair opposite, so Clare didn't feel pressured or overwhelmed. It was her house after all. "What happened that night?"

"I was out with friends, having a few drinks. It was my mate's twenty first, but it was getting late and I didn't have enough for a cab, so I started walking back. But there was strange noise, like something snarling. I came to an alley and the sound got louder. At first I thought it was dog that had gotten lose…" She shuddered, her voice trailing off.

"Then what?" Gwen asked, gently.

"I stepped closer, I saw this hooded figure, thought maybe he was drunk and needed help. Then I saw these claws. It turned around to see me, grabbed this weird box thing next to it, then there was a puff of smoke and it was gone."

"In the report, you said it came towards you?"

"Yeah, pushed me against the wall. I… I thought it was going to kill me." Clare clasped a hand to her mouth, tears wetting her eyes.

Forgetting professionalism, Gwen dashed over, putting her arm around the scared girl. "Oh, sweetheart, it's okay. It's okay. Can you tell me what happened next?"

"It just stared at me." Clare sobbed, the horrific memory rushing back. "Then it disappeared as well."

_Why not attack, Clare? She was scared, alone, why leave her? _Gwen thought.

"Clare, can you tell me what the killer looks like?" Gwen asked, needing to finish the interview quickly before she traumatised the youngster anymore.

"I can one better. Studying for an art degree, thought it might help make sense of all this." She walked to the old desk, picked up a sketch pad and handed it to Gwen. "How can something like that exist?"

Gwen blew out her cheeks, her eyes widen. "Oh, my." she whispered.

Clare's skills had depicted a clear image of the creature that Torchwood was hunting for but it still didn't settle Gwen's stomach. The alien was a basic human shape, two arms, two legs, but it's skin was a dark green colour. The eyes were black and hollow, and from each hand were five long claws dripped in blood. The creature's razor sharp teeth were bared, as if it was snarling like wild dog. It was dressed in a long, plain black robe flowing to its feet.

"You said something about a box?" she asked, her gaze not moving from the painting.

"It was the size of Rubik's cube, but it was black with these strange green symbols carved in." Clare sniffed.

Gwen stood up, taking her eyes away from the painting. "Miss Foster, I know this must have been hard for you, talking about something like this, but I'm very grateful. This will help the investigation." She stood up to leave, but took one last look at the painting. "Can I keep this?"

* * *

With Rose on her quest in the centre of town, Jack began his search on the cliffs, hoping to distract himself from the worries of home. Ianto was healing, slowly, but healing nonetheless. He had been through so much, and Jack couldn't help but feel like he hadn't done nearly enough.

A few weeks ago, the team learned that there was an alien parasite located in a primary school. The team managed to track down the creature and freeze it, using a device they had acquired some time ago.

Jack winced at the joke he made because the alien reminded him of a slimy, steroid infused worm. But his tone quickly changed when the parasite turned out to be dormant and attacked Ianto.

Over the next few hours they fought long and hard to remove the alien, but it was draining Ianto's life energy. Scans revealed that the parasite's teeth had sunk through the skin, allowing tentacles to latch to the bone. To break the alien's grip, they had to break the bone in Ianto's leg.

Taking the blame for the misjudgment, Jack broke Ianto's leg as quickly as he could, while Rose and Gwen held his hand. Ianto's scream pierced Jack's heart as they successfully removed the parasite, but the damage was already done.

Further test results concluded that the paralysis was temporary, but Jack's guilt and pain was overwhelming, almost searing. Working at Torchwood had its risks, but how far do you go for the job?

Jack blew out a long breath, feeling the sea breeze on his skin. _I'll be home soon, _he thought. He carried on walking along the cliffs, glancing up to see Alec in the distance.

Putting on a brave face, Jack cheerfully waved at the approaching copper. Well, he needed something to cheer him up and DI Grumpy made it so easy.

"Fancy seeing you here." Jack yelled.

"What are you doing, Captain?" Alec shouted back, his tone laced with authority.

"Seeing the sights. I love the seaside, don't you?" Jack grinned.

Alec grimaced. "We confirmed that your results last night. I had to tell Helen Jones that Billy was dead this morning."

"Hard part of the job." Jack said, his voice serious. "Learnt anything new?"

"As if I'd tell you." Alec sneered, walking away.

"We were willing to work with you until you insulted Rose."

Alec stopped in his tracks, his jaw tightened. "I'm sorry for what I said to your colleague."

"Tell her that."

"I will, next time I see her." Alec said, turning around.

Jack pondered for a second, before making his thoughts known. "What exactly did you say to her?"

"She didn't tell you?" asked Alec, stunned.

"I know it was bad." Jack told him. "But she didn't give me the details. She isn't like that."

Alec bit his lip, fearing the reaction from the protective man in front of him. "I asked her how she got her job. If her relationship with you secured it."

Jack clenched his fists and unclench them, debating on whether to hit the copper or push him off the cliff all together. He decided to choose neither option, knowing Rose would still disapprove. "Oh," he simply said.

Jack stared out the beautiful sight of the cliffs, seeing the waves brushing against the sand below. "Rose and I have been friends for years. When I met her, she had worked in shops. She's a clever girl, she deserves more than that." Jack explained.

"Yeah, she does." Alec agreed, before he could stop himself.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he smirked, amused by the new piece of delicious information. "Taken a shine to, Miss Tyler?"

Jack flashed Alec a mischievous grin while he scowled, refusing to admit it was true. Wanting to push the subject a little further, before the copper retreated, Jack raised in his arms in mock protest. "Don't arrest me. Otherwise you'll never be in her good books."

Alec rolled his eyes, stepping closer. He coughed purposefully, needing to change the topic. _Oh_, he was losing his focus again.

"Billy Hansen was leaving the pub called the Three Sailors on the night he died, his friends said he walked home alone. We checked with local taxi services, they didn't pick him up." He pointed down the road. "His house is half an hour away from here. If he did walk he could would come along the cliffs before he came to his house."

"Not many people would walk along here that late at night." Jack mumbled.

Alec pulled out a photo of Billy and handed it to Jack. "He was a big guy, it would take someone very strong to attack him."

_Or something very hungry, _Jack he could weigh in with his opinion on the matter, his phone rang. Glancing at the number, he sighed, relieved that there was a lovely Welsh girl on the other end.

"Please tell me you have something good?" he answered.

"Better. Check your phone. I've sent you something you need to see. Clare Foster saw the killer and drew a very helpful picture." Gwen said, walking towards the docks.

Jack pulled his phone away from his ear, saw the photo and swallowed thickly. He turned his back to Alec, lowering his voice. "Is that…?"

"Yep, Jack be careful," Gwen told him. "You and Rose need to be armed. I know she isn't keen on guns but you need to be on red alert."

"What are you doing now?" he mumbled.

"Going back to the hub. Ianto has been trying to locate the landing site. We're getting closer to finding out where this thing came from."

Jack glanced over his shoulder to see Alec watching him, intrigued. "How is he?"

"Being brave as usual." Gwen muttered. "There's something else though. Clare saw the alien teleport a box somewhere. Maybe this thing can only transport one thing at a time."

"That's good, it means it's powers are limited." Jack mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Everything alright, Captain?" Alec asked, puzzled by the bits of conversation he was overhearing.

Gwen slowed down, alerted by the unfamiliar voice. "Is someone else there? " she asked, slightly panicked.

"Yeah, everything is fine, send me the details." he said, firmly. "I'll see you when I get home."

Alec stepped closer, trying to hear more of what Jack was discussing. _You're up to something, _he thought.

"Thanks, Mom." Jack said, cutting off the call.

Gwen smiled, putting her phone back in her bag, feeling much more relaxed. "Cheeky git."

"Who was that?" Alec demanded, crossing his arms.

"Mom wants to know if I'll come back for my grandmother's birthday." Jack lied, turning to face him. "You know what parents are like."

Alec gave him a sceptical look. "I know you're hiding something. I will find out what. Whatever it takes."

Jack stepped closer, standing over Alec, losing his playfulness. "Go back to your office, Hardy. You're better off there."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks for the support and lovely comments so far. **

* * *

After leaving the cliffs, and with the help of touch typing while Alec wasn't looking, Jack texted Rose, telling her to check out the Three Sailors pub. Luckily enough, she was only a ten minute walk away. It was a tiny pub at the corner of the street, but busy nonetheless.

She passed a group of middle-aged men sat down on benches at the front of the pub. Their eyes caught her, so they wolf whistled, hoping to get her attention. Rose wrinkled her nose, smelling the stench of petrol on their overalls as she stepped inside the establishment.

Once inside, she assumed a tourist façade to blend in. Rose sat by the bar and ordered a drink, carefully listening to the conversations around her. There were mummers of the hot weather and general chit-chat, but the interesting bit she overheard was the whispers of a funny smell coming from the beach.

The barman passed her a drink and returned to his conversation with an older gentlemen down the bar, who was wearing old clothing and mud encrusted Wellington boots.

"I can't believe what you're saying, Bill." the barman said. "Have you told the police?"

"Have I heck. Useless they are. Don't know what they are doing, the whole bloody lot." Bill complained.

_They're not that bad, _Rose thought.

"Especially that Hardy bloke. Look what happened last year with Jack Marshall." Bill continued.

_That wasn't his fault. That was the press. _

"Bastard." Bill added for good measure.

_Bit harsh. Wait, why I am defending him? _

"Reckon it was animal then, maybe a dog?" the barman asked.

"Possibly. Ten sheep dead. Completely stripped." Bill grumbled. "Horrible sight, like something out of a horror film."

Absorbing the information, Rose took a sip of her drink. However the loud sounds from outside quickly drew her attention and without hesitating, she plonked her drink on the bar, and leapt for the door.

The barman and Bill watched her abrupt departure. "Kids today. Always rushing." Bill muttered.

"You stupid bastard!"

"Piss off, Helen."

Rose reached the doorway, seeing a distraught red-haired woman, dressed in a nurse's uniform in the middle of an argument with one of the men she saw sitting on the benches from earlier. He staggered towards her as their voices got louder, but yet not alerting anyone else around. People just walked by, minding their own business, refusing to acknowledge the fight was even happening.

"Gary, you should have walked him home." Helen shouted, tears streaming down her face.

"He's a big bloke, he can look after himself." Gary remarked, before taking a gulp of his pint.

Rose glanced to the benches, the middle-aged men watched the dispute, she could tell they had no intention of joining in, but instead watching the spectacle of a hysterical, grief-stricken woman.

"He's dead because of you." Helen sobbed "You were his mate, you should have checked he was okay."

"No, he's dead because of _you_. He wanted to stay out longer because you suffocate him." Gary remarked, gaining the mutual agreement of his peers behind as they raised their glasses, laughing.

Hurt by his lack of compassion, Helen slapped Gary's hand, making him spill the pint, the liquid soaking his overalls. Furious, Gary stepped closer, making Helen regret her actions. "Now that was not very nice."

Helen flinched, scared how Gary would react. She stumbled back, falling to the ground. The drunken men on the benches laughed again.

Seeing enough, Rose marched over to protect the scared woman. "Hey, how about you back off?"

Gary spun around to her, the stench of alcohol on his breath overwhelmed Rose's senses. He wouldn't remember any of this in the morning. "This is nothing to do with you, Blondie."

Rose ignored him, grabbed Helen's hands and helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

Helen nodded, wiping away her tears with a tissue.

Knowing how Helen felt, Rose turned to Gary "Your friend had just died. A bit of respect for the people he's left behind, eh?" Her voice was darker than she intended.

Gary opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came out. He eyed the daring Blonde in front of him and sneered. "She started it." He tried pointing but his drunken state meant his sense of direction was off and was actually pointing at the wall behind her instead.

"I don't care!" Rose shouted, standing in front of Helen. "She's grieving. She wants answers."

Stunned by her authority in her voice, Gary backed down, retreating to his table like a dog with its tail between its legs. Rose heard his mutter his breath, calling her a "Crazy bitch".

His friends groaned, shaking their heads at him. One of them perked up and said "Come on, Gary, you going to let some silly, little cow talk you like that."

Rose led Helen away to another table away from bitter noise. "They're idiots, but drunken idiots." Rose muttered. "Don't take it to heart."

"What was I thinking?" Helen whispered. "I just saw them, happy. How can they be happy like at a time like this?"

"People deal with grieve in different ways." Rose turned to see Gary had resumed his drinking, "Some better than others." she added.

Helen let out a small giggle, drying the last of her tears away. "Yeah. Thanks by the way."

"Who are they?"

"His friends from work. They never liked me, always said he could do better. Gary doesn't like me because I turned him down a couple of months back when he was drunk at a party."

"Right. How about we get you home?" Rose said.

"No, can't, I have to get to work." Helen indicated her uniform. "The hospital isn't far from here. Thanks again."

Rose watched her walk away, and loosely crossed her arms. She understood grief better than anyone else, she'd seen it her entire life. Watching her own mother struggle alone after her father died when she was six months old. The hit and run accident that left Jackie broken.

Then history repeated, it all happened again. Rose saw the man she loved taken away from her, never having the chance to say goodbye. She knew all about the anger Helen was feeling, the sorrow that crippled her when someone she loved died, except Rose knew the full story and Helen never would.

Torchwood would cover their tracks, make it look like something else, something human. It wasn't right, an innocent woman led to believe something else had happened to someone she cared about. But the world wasn't ready to understand what was really out there, not yet.

* * *

Late that night, Ellie was re-evaluating the folders from Billy Hansen's murder in her dining room. In front of her was the autopsy information, the statements from his friends, his girlfriend and witness reports from everyone who had seen him in the pub the night he died. Ellie sighed, feeling the pressure of the case overwhelm her.

From out in the hallway, she heard a knock of the door, then heard Tom's voice.

"She's in the kitchen." he said.

Surprised, Ellie saw Alec standing by the door with a bottle of red wine in his hands. She gawked at the man, wondering what he was doing in her home so late. Alec noted her expression and scratched the back of his neck.

"We were still on for tonight?" She continued to stare at him, "Dinner?" he reminded her.

Ellie grunted in frustration. "I'm so sorry. I completely forgot."

"It's okay." Alec said.

"No, my head been all over the place." Ellie muttered, putting the sheets back in the folders.

"To be honest, I was expecting to be thrown out for last night." he said, half smiling.

"You're forgiven. I should be used to your temper tantrums by now." Ellie said. "Sorry about dinner, how about a takeaway?"

"Ellie, really, it's fine. I won't hold it against you." he said, waving the bottle in her face. "But you look like you need some of this."

* * *

_Four glasses of wine and a takeout pizza later…._

"… Really it was that bad. I just wanted to shout and tell them to piss off." Ellie told him, throwing her pizza crust back into the box. She told him about the incident outside the newsagent, it sounded more like a rant, not that Alec minded.

"You should have done." he smirked. "I told you—"

"Shut up! I know."

Alec emptied his glass, Ellie was the only one allowed and the only one brave enough to speak to him like that. She earned it after all.

Ellie took a sip of wine, gaining the courage she needed. "Freddie asked me today 'when is daddy coming home?' Oh, I didn't know what to say."

"He's too young understand right now and when the times comes he'll hear the truth from you, not anyone else. I know you want to protect them both but there is only so much you can do."

"I know. How was your day?" Ellie asked, standing up.

"Okay. I bumped into your friend actually."

"Well, that narrows down the list." Ellie said, sarcastically.

"Captain Jack." Alec muttered.

"No, Miss Tyler?" Ellie queried.

"Nope." Alec said, shaking his head. "He was on the cliffs, looking any more evidence."

He glanced to the other side of the table, seeing the folders of Billy's case. Alec leant forward and seized them while Ellie wasn't looking. She turned around and sighed.

"Did you find anything else on the cliffs?" she asked.

"No." Alec said, putting on his glasses. He studied the autopsy report closely "But I've been thinking-"

"Oh, don't want to do too much of that, sir." Interrupted Ellie, grinning for the first time that day.

"True. But the personal items were missing from both bodies, Billy and the case in Cardiff. No mobile phones or anything."

"Maybe the killer took them." Ellie suggested. "What did Jack say?"

"The mysterious Captain? Not much. He had this strange phone call on the cliffs. He said it was from his mother but I bet you a tenner it wasn't." Alec said.

"Who was the phone call to then?" Ellie said, glancing at the files again.

"Someone back in Cardiff, one of his teammates probably. The enigmatic Torchwood. They're very peculiar people. He said something about limited powers."

"Powers?" Ellie said, puzzled. "Maybe it's code for something."

"In their special little group." Alec said, taking off his glass, then rubbed his eyes.

"What do you want to do about it? Surveillance?"

"Yeah, find out where they are staying. If they have talked to anyone around here." he stated. "Also find the number of Billy's phone, we can try to track it down."

"We have to make a statement to the press at some point." Ellie said, mentally cringing.

"Yeah, let them know that there is a killer in Broadchurch who strips the flesh off its victims." Alec said, darkly. "That's a great line for the holiday brochure."

* * *

A few miles away, a green-skinned alien sat on the beach watching the waves, fascinated by the planet and its people, it's scrumptious people. The creature's hood was down, allowing it to feel the cool, gentle breeze on the back of its bold head.

It lifted a strange box up, admiring the delicate carvings, the language of its home world. The symbols in the box began to glow, the light bouncing off its pearly white, killer smile.

A familiar growl behind it made the creature turn to see a half mangled carcass on the sand, blood staining the grains. The alien rose to its feet, seeing its partner in crime, a second identical alien feasting on the corpse. The second alien lifted its head away from the body, blood dribbling from its mouth.

Next to the alien was pile of clothing, a torn, blood soaked nurse's uniform. And on that uniform was the name tag "Helen."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I used to be able to update stories quicker than this so I apologise to everyone who has been reading it. But hopefully this chapter makes up for it. **

* * *

Rose hated Jack.

_He knew the bastard, _she thought. _He bloody well knew! _

She shut the window a couple of hours ago, praying it would keep out the noise, but had no luck. _The universe really does hate me._ Rose stared at the alarm clock, watching the minutes painstaking tick by.

She covered her ears with the pillow, willing the sounds of bad karaoke to go away. It became clear why Jack had suddenly let her have this room; he knew that would get sleep, whereas she would be tossing and turning all night. Her mind screamed at her, wanting nothing more than to drift to the land of nod.

Finally she gave up, heaved herself from the quilt, wanting to shout at whoever it was murdering Livin' on a Prayer. The pub opposite the rental cottage had been playing her favourite songs all night, but at this moment at time, she wished she was deaf.

Rose tip toed down the hallway, wondering if her partner in crime was asleep. She hoped that he was in deep slumber. Ideas formed, devious plans so she could wake the evil git, able to achieve her revenge for the bedroom-last-minute switch (Not that she held a grudge at all).

Reaching his door, she pressed her ear against the wood and heard Jack talking on the phone.

"Yeah, I miss you too, sweetheart." he said, softly.

Ianto.

He was talking to Ianto. She stepped back, feeling awkward for her intrusion. Her anger melted away and she retreated to her room, where the sound of classic rock songs were being attacked by someone else's poor attempt.

_Never going to get to sleep at this rate. _

Rose changed out of pyjamas and into her clothes from earlier. She grabbed her bag the living room, careful to knock anything over and alert Jack. Scribbling on a note pad, she left him a message so he wouldn't worry.

_Hey, Jack. _

_Couldn't sleep (thanks for that!) _

_Gone for searching for a chip shop. _

_Back soon. XX _

* * *

"Thanks for letting me rant all night long." Ellie said, opening the front door to Alec to let him out.

"Don't worry about it." he said, stepping out into the porch. "See you tomorrow, Miller."

He strolled out of the porch and headed down the road, feeling relieved. It wasn't that he hated Ellie's company, on the contrary, he admired the woman, but he had been used to being on his own for so long, that it was still strange to him. Ellie was the only friend in town he could count on, and vice versa, but his trust issues still plagued him.

Since he decided to stay in Broadchurch permanently, Alec had brought a small house near the station, which was a twenty minute drive in the car. But he had walked, knowing that he and Ellie would finish the bottle of wine.

Eyes on the ground, Alec was nearing the high street, he rounded the corner when…

"Ow." a woman groaned, chips falling from her tray.

"Watch where you're going!" Alec grumbled.

He glanced up, and saw the mysterious Rose Tyler in front of him, rubbing her arm after their collision. He opened his mouth to speak, but found his throat dry.

"Sorry." he said, his voice hoarse.

"No, I'm sorry." she mumbled. "Been one of those nights."

Alec stared at the chips that had fallen to the floor, but luckily enough the tray was still half full. "Where did you find chips this late?"

"There's a kebab shop around the corner, keeping open for everyone coming out the pubs, I imagine." she said.

There was awkward pause. Unsure of how to proceed next, Alec bit the bullet remembering his words to Jack a few hours before. _I will, next time I see her. _

Alec swallowed thickly. "Sorry."

"You already said that."

"Yeah, I meant for…." he put his hands in his pockets, avoiding her gaze.

She raised an eyebrow, watching the struggling copper.

"I mean… what I said to you… about how you got your job." he stammered.

Stunned, Rose picked up another chip and ate it thoughtfully, considering his apology. _Better late than never, I suppose. _

"It was inappropriate and I am really sorry." he said, looking her properly, his own eyes filled with honesty and regret for his actions.

_Okay, Rose, so he isn't that bad. Just a bit grouchy_ . Rose sighed and lifted up the tray to him. "Chip?" she asked, brightly.

Alec happily took one and smiled back at her. "Which way you going?" he asked, popping the chip in his mouth.

"Erm." She looked around, realising she hadn't thought that far ahead. "Not sure. Couldn't sleep, so I thought walking around would tire me out. Might go down the high street."

"Right. Well I have to walk that way to get to my house." he mumbled.

"Okay. Walk together?" she suggested.

He swallowed again, both relived and worried that she had proposed such a thing. He told himself if was to find out more about Torchwood and what they do, and had absolutely nothing to do with the pretty girl who baffled him. "Right. Okay."

They strolled down the street in silence. Rose decided it should be her to break tension, after it seemed that Alec was the type of person who found it was hard admitting when he was wrong. "If you're good, I might even let you have another chip." she told him.

"Thanks," He tugged his ear, nervously. "You know Ellie had told me that my communication skills need a bit of work." he admitted, trying to break the ice a bit further.

"Just a tad." she agreed, her tone light-hearted. "You know, people aren't that bad."

"I don't know. They aren't that good either." he countered.

"Sounds like you had a couple of bad experiences." Rose said, thinking of what the press had said about him. The words "Worst Cop In Britain" had loomed over his head for a while.

"Yeah, you could say that." he said, recalling his memories of his wife's affair and the ordeal he had to go through.

"People can surprise you." she said, holding the tray for him.

Alec took another chip, trying not to gape at the curious blonde. "Yeah, they can." His voice was quieter than he expected.

"You and Ellie seem to work together well."

"Yeah, it wasn't always like that. I annoyed her at the beginning." he said, giving a near silent laugh.

"Partnerships take time. You need to learn each other habits, and they are not always good."

"You mean Jack's flirting?"

"Yeah, that for example." Rose smiled at him again, but this time her tongue between her teeth, causing Alec to smile back, even though he never ever smiled this much. _How much of that wine did I have? _he thought._._

"I think Ellie likes it." he told her.

"Everybody likes Jack's flirting." she giggled, passing the tray back to him.

"Even you?" Alec mentally kicked himself as he slowed down, waiting for her to storm off again. _What the hell did I say that for? _

Rose glanced at the copper, then beamed at him. "He doesn't flirt with me, besides I'm best friends with his boyfriend."

Alec choked on chip the just placed in his mouth. "You okay?" she asked, patting him on the back.

"Boyfriend?" he managed to say, his cheeks red.

"Yeah, boyfriend." Rose stated. "I love Jack to bits but he's a friend. That's all."

"So you and him?" Alec prompted, timidly.

"No, never. Besides he's not my type."

"Ah." Alec said, wondering what her type really was. "I thought because you and him are attached at the hip-"

"Does not mean that I would sleep with my boss." Rose said. "Besides he's my work husband."

Alec stopped in his tracks, completely confused as if she was speaking another language. "You lost me."

"He's my work husband, I'm his work wife. We work together, we cover each other's backs but there is nothing romantic about it. Like you and Ellie, I guess."

"I don't think so." Alec muttered, as they carried on walking. "Though Jack is very protective of you."

"He's always been like that." said Rose, waving her hand causally.

"He gave me a warning not to piss of the 'Bad Wolf'."

Rose sighed, this time it was her turn to slow down, "It's a nickname that Jack and… erm John came up with, for when I get angry." she said, her voice filled with sadness.

"John? Is he on your team as well?" Alec asked, noting her change in behaviour.

"No, he's gone." She bit her lip. "He.. erm… died a year ago. He was my fiancé."

"I'm sorry." said Alec, quietly.

Tears welled in her eyes, Alec's swore that if the pacemaker hadn't been in his chest, his own heart would have stopped. He just wanted to give her a hug, but he told himself to stay professional. Rose wiped her eyes and blew out her cheeks.

"Sorry," she said, her voice cracking. "You don't want to hear my sob story."

_You'd be surprised, _is what he wanted to say, but his rational mind kicked in and he said "It's okay. Shouldn't have pushed the subject."

"What about you? Married?" Rose asked, her eyes focused on what chips were left.

Alec shook his head, his eyes darkened. Rose groaned, misinterpreting his response. _Well done, Tyler. _

"Sore subject." she muttered. "See now I've stuck _my_ foot in it. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. it happened a long time ago. But, yeah, I'm divorced. Wife was having an affair."

"Oh."

"That's my sob story." he said, half smiling.

Rose giggled. "Right pair together, aren't we?"

"That we are."

"The emotional baggage of a badly written soap opera, as my mother calls it." Rose said.

"Sums it up quite nicely."

They turned a corner into the high street. It was empty, nothing but the sound of two people getting to know each other. Rose dropped the empty tray in the bin, admiring the star filled sky that made Broadchurch seem a bit brighter in that moment.

"So, DI Hardy, did you always want to be a detective?" asked Rose.

"Yeah, since I was a wee lad, I suppose." he explained. "I like puzzles. Solving a case involves putting the pieces together, working out motives. Couldn't see myself doing anything else. What about you?"

"Honesty?" She glanced up at him, feeling the trust slowly building the bridges between them. "I never thought in a million years I could do a job like this. I thought shops were my limit." Rose admitted, shyly.

"You seem confident enough." Alec told her. "You had the balls to tell me off."

"That was different." Rose said, but deciding to take a chance, she closed her eyes, and hastily added. "Have you ever woken in the morning and thought 'how the hell did I wind up here?'"

"On more than one occasion."

"Good." She sounded relieved. "Not alone in that, then."

"You're not alone on that." he said, sincerely.

They exchanged a small smile. Both of them had been through hell and back to get to where they where. They had lost loves, gained friends, dealt with their own demons, but now the recovery period was drawing to a close, and yet the world still seemed a bit unkind.

"Right." she said, a lump forming in her throat. _Oh, no, _she thought.

They came to a halt when they reached the police station, the building that didn't seem so unnerving anymore to Rose. There were a couple of lights still inside, someone was still burning the midnight oil.

"Right, I need to go that way." Alec said, pointing towards the docks.

"Okay, well I'm in the opposite direction." she said.

"Maybe, the police and Torchwood can work together?" suggested Alec. "Four heads is better than two, so I've been told."

_Not if you're from Cardiff, it's not, _she thought. Rose nodded. "Yeah, I'll run it by Jack."

"Well, night, Miss Tyler,"

"Rose,"

"Excuse me?"

"Call me Rose." she said, giving her signature smile again.

"Okay." he muttered, feeling his cheeks turn red again. "Night, Rose."

"Night." she breathed.

They walked in opposite directions, both shocked by the turn of events. As soon as she was out of sight, Rose blew out a long breath. She shuddered. _My name should not sound so good in that voice. _

Alec slowed down his pace, looking over his shoulder, she was gone. _Okay, that didn't go as bad as I expected. _


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Bit longer this chapter. Let me know what you think. **

* * *

Years of working for Torchwood meant that the team knew with absolute certainty that the universe had it in for them.

But on those rare occasions when the tides turned, the team wouldn't be considered as it's playthings and they would get a lucky day. So lucky in fact, that there would be artist who could depict a clear picture of the alien they were desperate to find. Ianto scanned it into the computer searching every database and CCTV recording for the creature.

"What if this thing can make itself look human?" asked Gwen.

"Give up now?" grinned Ianto.

They were tucking into a another takeaway, enjoying the greasy food fill their empty stomachs. Torchwood and takeaways went hand in hand, as well as danger, innuendos and the occasion threat to humanity. Tonight was Ianto's choice, so they were eating pizza.

Not only were the computers scanning for the alien's image, it was also tracking the energy signature that alien gave off every time it teleported. Mercifully enough, it hadn't moved from Broadchuch, which was both a good thing and bad thing. The good thing was that the alien would be easier to find, but the bad thing was that this meant that the alien had chosen Broadchurch for a very specific reason. Their job was to find out why.

"How did Jack sound on the phone?" Gwen asked, grabbing the last slice of garlic bread.

"Good." Ianto replied, wiping his fingers on napkin . "I think he just wants to come home."

"Scared of getting sun burnt, is he? Might ruin his perfection complexion?" Gwen giggled, as the image of a lobster red Jack entered her mind.

Ianto shook his head. "He thinks he let me down, I can hear it in his voice."

Gwen swallowed the last of her food and glanced up at him, meeting his warm eyes. "He's just worried."

"He blames himself."

"Jack's in charge—"

"Doesn't make it his fault."

"He feels like he should have done more." Gwen explained.

Ianto sighed. "Gwen..." he started. "Remember you said how good it would be to see the look on Jack's face…will you help me learn how to walk again?"

"Of course I will." she said, smiling. "We'll have you back on your feet in no time."

Gwen marched over to her brave friend and wrapped her arms around his waist. He hugged her back, but quickly withdrew as the computer began to beep. Images loaded, causing both of them to widen their eyes, gobsmacked.

"Is that-?"

"We need to call Jack. Now." Gwen said, already ahead of him.

* * *

When Rose arrived back at the cottage, she was uneasy. The last thing she expected was to bump into Alec, and she certainly didn't count on warming to him so quick, considering his icy behaviour the last time they met.

Rose pulled out her phone and checked the clock. 11.58pm. She pocketed it and made her way to the living room, feeling welcome urge to sleep.

_Another day…_

She rubbed her eyes, dumping her bag on the table with a quiet thud. When she opened them, she saw a wide awake Jack sitting on the sofa with his phone in his hands and her note in the other.

His lips curved into a wicked grin.

"What?" Rose asked.

* * *

Jack had placed the phone in the middle of the table, setting it to speakerphone. Gwen and Ianto repeated the information for Rose, but she was baffled and put it down to her current sleepiness.

"Run that by me again." Rose mumbled.

"The alien was spotted in a park twelve hours before he killed Stewart Hallway near the club." Gwen repeated.

Before Jack could ask anything else, Ianto's voice came on as well as the sound of a keyboard being tapped furiously. "The park was located around the corner from a nursery. On Forrester Lane."

"Okay, how is that a good thing and why is he grinning like a Cheshire cat?" Rose mumbled, pointing at her boss.

"It's another piece of the puzzle." said Jack. "According to the footage Ianto found, the alien was sighted at a park, but it didn't attack the children, it just watched them play."

He lifted up the laptop and clicked a button. The CCTV footage loaded showing Rose a park full of young, bouncy children playing on swings, enjoying the warm weather. The camera turned, revealing a hooded figure sitting on a bench under the cover of trees. It seemed like the creature's focus was solely on the children, not the parents.

Rose arched an eyebrow, unsure of what she was seeing, when the creature stood up. Jack watched her reaction carefully, as the camera zoomed in showing the creature's true face. The alien smiled, but it wasn't the killer Rose expected to see, it was kind smile, almost loving. She leaned closer to the screen, convinced she had imagined it. It couldn't be? Rose stabbed the replay button.

She studied it as the alien rose from its seat, tears leaked from its hollow eyes, showing a sadness that the team had never thought possible from such a vicious executioner.

"What does it want with the children?" Rose said, scared to ask.

"Nothing, the creature left the park a few minutes after. Never touched them." Jack informed her. "If this thing wanted to take them, nothing could have stopped it. They would have been gone in a puff of smoke."

"If I didn't know any better I say, it was in awe." Ianto declared.

"This alien has a shred of decency?" Rose pondered, hardly believing the images in front of her eyes. "Children are a no – no? But this thing isn't just killing adults though, it's killing sheep. When I was in the Three Saliors pub – the one Billy was in before he was killed – a farmer said that ten of his sheep were stripped clean."

"Bit of a small meal." Gwen muttered. "It's been attacking humans, why eat something so little? I mean a sheep is like a snack to this thing."

"Let's focus on the facts." Jack stated. "What do we know on the energy signature?"

Ianto typed on the keyboard and within a few seconds there was a bleep – bleep sound from the laptop, loading the same information that the hub had. "The scans show that the older the signature, the weaker it becomes."

"It's teleported a couple of times since you've been there, but it's still within town's limits." Gwen interjected.

"The problem is that we need more information. Shame you can't talk to the police up there, they know the area better." Ianto said, running his hands through his hair.

"Well, actually," Rose breathed. "I saw Alec an hour ago. He wants to work together again."

Jack arched an eyebrow, hiding a mischievous grin. He knew Alec's little secret and he could make a bet that Rose had no idea. It was a similar situation with her and John. Friends in love, holding hands, yet never taking the next step. Jack decided enough was enough and gave them that gentle nudge in the right direction… well it was more like a push, but it did the job.

"When did you see, DI Grumpy?" Jack inquired, hearing the smile in his voice.

"Well, I couldn't sleep because someone gave me a front view seat to the Z Factor special." Rose said, fighting the urge to yawn.

Jack patronisingly rubbed her back, mocking her sleepy state. "Awww, Rosie." he teased.

Rose scowled at him. The Bad Wolf was roaming her cage. If you had any sense, you would run and hide, but not Jack, he had to take a poke, taunting the animal.

"I hate you." she told him.

"And?" he prompted.

Rose yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "And? I went for a walk and saw him in the street, we talked and he apologised."

"DI Grumpy?" asked Ianto, curiously.

Jack took his eyes away from Rose, back to the phone. "Just a game. I don't call him that to his face." Jack declared.

"Good." Rose said, which earned Jack flashing her a cheeky grin for good measure. She quickly added. "I don't want you to get us arrested. Otherwise you'll have my mother to deal with."

And with that Jack's grin was wiped off his face.

"Can we be serious for two second, please?" Gwen said, her voice impatient. You could hear her tapping against the desk, waiting for the nonsense to end.

"Sorry." Jack and Rose muttered, simultaneously.

"Why is this thing moving between here and Cardiff?" Rose asked, resuming her professionalism.

"It's staying here for a reason. What does this place have that Cardiff doesn't?" Jack asked.

Gwen opened her mouth and closed it again, not having an answer for them. Finally she said, "Well, nothing."

Jack racked his brains, his frustration was getting the better of the him. He hated when a case dragged on. It was easier when he could just shoot things. "They're both by the sea, both big tourist destinations. But there's the population difference—"

"Us." Rose said, abruptly. Her eyes widen, shocked at her own theory. She rose to her feet, pointing at her chest. "It's us. We're in Cardiff watching over the rift."

Jack rolled his eyes, not seeing where her trail of thought was leading "Us? What could they know about us?"

"Torchwood has been around for a while." she retorted.

Ianto stabbed the keyboard, the idea suddenly hitting him. He loaded the files the of team's origin. "The institute was first established by Queen Victoria in 1879 to protect Britain's borders. Something fell to Earth and infected a boy. They thought it was a werewolf."

Jack jumped to his feet, thinking back to his early days on the job. "Okay, but Earth has been known to encounter some gruesome enemies over the years and they have always been dealt with, away from the public eye-"

"But they in the last few years it's been getting harder to cover our tracks." Gwen interrupted.

"John said the same thing." Rose whispered. She looked at Jack, her heart beating madly against her chest. "The explosion at Canary Wharf. He saved us all. Everybody thought it was accident. But remember all the conspiracy theories afterwards?"

There was pause before Gwen hastily added. "Jack, the public are getting closer to finding out what's really out there. It's not too farfetched to believe that they don't know something about us and our defences." Gwen told him.

"So the aliens are talking to each other. Rumours are floating about." He scratched the back of his head, anxious. "This thing left Cardiff the minute it arrived because it knew we were are based there over the rift. So it leaves, why come back?"

"The box. It came back for the box. Must be from its spaceship." Ianto suggested.

"We need to find its location-" Gwen started.

"Then what?" Jack exclaimed. "You can't go there alone."

"Jack, we need to find that ship." It was more of statement, than asking for permission.

"Wait for me to come-"

"You can't leave Rose by herself." Gwen countered. "And I can't take Ianto with me. I have to go alone."

_God, this would be easier if we could lock them in the office like we used to, _Ianto thought.

"Gwen if this about me leaving you there -"

"This has nothing to do with that. We're running out of time!"

"If you keep shouting like this, you won't need the phone." Ianto bellowed, his voice laced with sarcasm. "We'll end up exposing ourselves."

Rose pushed her hair from her face, wishing for nothing more than for John to be there to take control of the situation like he used to. To lead them in the right direction. _If only there was more of us. We might have caught them by now. If Torchwood had known that the Cybermen were going to invade then John wouldn't have… Two people are dead and they will never know why or how. How can they bare it? It drives me crazy knowing the truth. Sometimes I wish I could forget. _

She glanced down at her hand, rubbing her palm with her fingertips, missing the hand that should have held it. _I miss you_, she thought, hoping he could hear her words, her plea. If she could just imagine… almost feel his skin…

Rose snapped back to reality as the cries from her team were bouncing off the walls.

Gwen could sense her anger rising. In a way she was glad that Jack wasn't there otherwise he would have seen how red in the face she was. "What if they are planning something big-"

"This thing doesn't want to invade us. It can't, there is only one of them!" Jack said, his voice getting louder.

"So, what's changed?!" Rose said, matching his volume, silencing everyone else. "Why start killing people in the sickest way possible? It must have known we'd be drawn to it."

"They can't know that much—" Jack started but Rose hadn't finished.

"Torchwood has a reputation!" Rose carried on, her voice losing all its warmth that they knew so well. "We save the day. We stop the bad guys. But we are still alone in the dark because we believe the Earth isn't ready to understand the bigger picture."

"It's not that simple!" Jack yelled at her.

"Isn't it?" Rose barked back.

Jack stepped closer, his eyes dark than she ever seen them, but she didn't back down. "You think it would be easier if there was more of us? More people aware of the danger? You think Helen would appreciate knowing that her boyfriend was feast to something she can't begin to comprehend? It's easier for them to think it was a human."

"We hide the truth, but there is only so many lies we can tell before the ground shrinks beneath our feet. One day someone is going to see something they can't explain and then what?" Rose scowled.

Jack stepped closer, his voice grim. "When that day comes, everything changes, but until then you will obey orders from me. Is that understood?!"

Ianto glanced at Gwen, listening sympathetically to the quarrel, that could destroy a good friendship. Not sure of how to say next, Gwen stepped in. "It's late, maybe we should carry this on when we've all cooled down."

Jack swallowed hard, avoiding Rose's cold gaze. She took a deep breath, she could hear the blood rush to her ears. They took a step back from each other, their anger melting away.

"Good. I need some sleep." she mumbled, before leaving to her room. Rose fell onto the bed face first, clinging to the duvet, shaking. Within a few minutes, her body gave in and drifted, dreaming of a better day.


	12. Chapter 12

_"Rose, wake up. Rose."_

_"Ten more minutes." she murmured, pulling the duvet closer to her. _

_"You know people don't need to sleep this long." _

_Rose's eyes fluttered open to see a middle-aged man leaning against the doorway with a big grin plastered on his face. She smiled back, tongue between her teeth as her eyes glanced over his worth leather jacket. _

_She lifted her head and realised that she was back in her old room in her mum's house. Pink walls, big bed, messy room. All the same. Why was she here though? Don't complain, Rose, she thought. _

_"I was…." Rose started. _

_"What?" he asked, curious. _

_"Never mind." she said, stepping out of bed. _

_John bit his lip, looking her up and down. She arched an eyebrow at him but he disappeared from sight, chuckling to himself. Rose walked towards the door, but caught her reflection in the mirror and groaned. She had the worst case of bed head she has ever seen. Hair sticking up in all angles like she had been dragged through a hedge backwards. It was going to make ages to sort out. No wonder he was laughing. _

_"Need a cup of tea." she muttered. _

_Rose walked into the living room, passing John and then came to an abrupt halt. She spun on the spot, her eyes widen and then she hit John's arm as hard as she could._

_"Ow." he moaned. "What was that for?" _

_"What have you done?" she mumbled. _

_The living room table was littered with wires and cables, broken down bits of casing, but the sight that made Rose frown was the dismantled toaster that belonged to her mother. _

_Rose shook her head, trying not to be too amused. "She is going to kill you." _

_"Let her try." he retorted. "I can outrun anything." _

_She wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tightly. "I know. But unless you want to get slapped again, buy her another one." _

_ He rolled his eyes and resumed his work. Rose watched him in his element, fascinated. "How long are we staying this time?" she asked. _

_"A couple of days and then we really need to be going. We have a plane to catch to Rome. Probably be there for a couple of weeks maybe longer." he explained, his eyes shining. _

_Rose nodded. "Haven't you been there before?" _

_"Yeah, ages ago." he told her, looking closer at the cables in his hands. "The last time I went to this dodgy restaurant and I was in bed for a week, all because of some bad seafood." _

_"Can't imagine you slowing down?" she giggled, resting her head against his shoulder. _

_"Are you going to go shopping before we go?" he asked her, entwining their fingers. _

_"Yeah, as long as the shop window dummies don't attack me again." Rose said, stroking his hand. _

_She lifted her head, and they exchanged warm smiles, staring at each other, completely content. Rose stood on her tip toes leaning in, her lips nearly touching his when a knock at the door interrupted them. _

_ "We expecting someone?" he asked, not moving away._

_"Nope." Rose replied. _

_They knocked again. Sighing, Rose walked towards the door as she heard John shout out "If it's Jackie, let me get a head start." _

_Rose grinned and answered the door. Her jaw dropped as she saw DI Alec Hardy standing there with a grim expression on his face. _

_"Can I come in, Rose Tyler?" he asked. Rose open her mouth but no sound came out. "Rose? You did say I could call you that, remember?"_

_Why does he say my name like that? she thought. _

_"Yeah, I… did, didn't I?" she stammered, scratching the back of her neck._

_"Who is it?" John called to her. _

_"The police." Rose shouted back. _

_"So?" Alec prompted. _

_"Yeah, come on in." _

_Rose opened the door wider to allow Alec entrance into the Tyler flat, as his foot stepped inside, they heard a loud crash. Rose dashed into the living room to see what happened, but no one was there. No John. No mess. Nothing. As if he never there. _

_"John? Where did you go?" Her voice was shaking. She looked around the room, her heart was racing as the panic set in. "John?" _

_"Rose?" The blonde turned around to see Alec staring at her, eyes wide._

_"He was here a minute ago." she mumbled. "He was- why are you here?"_

_This didn't make any sense. She had never met Alec before Broadchurch. What was going on? Alec continued to watch Rose, sliding his hands into his jacket pockets. _

_"I need to find him. He can't have gone far." _

_Alec stepped forward, putting his arm around her waist, reassuringly. Rose hissed at the contact, unsure of what to do next. His voice dropped to a gentle whisper, pulling her closer. _

_"Rose… I need to tell you-" _

* * *

She jumped out of her bed, landing to the floor with a thud, gasping for air. It took her a moment to realise she had been dreaming. It felt so real. All those memories of her home, and him. But why did Alec suddenly show up? Why was he getting so close?

She heaved herself off the ground, glanced down seeing that she hadn't bothered changing her clothes from the night before. Then everything flooded back. Her meeting with Alec, her argument with Jack. She sighed, still feeling exhausted.

She hadn't dreamt of John in such a long time. She almost felt guilty, she missed him, she loved him but she didn't see him anymore in her dreams. It's what kept her going in those first couple of months. Remembering the way he used to hold her, ramble at her, all those little things that made her smile.

_A couple of days and then we really need to be going. We have a plane to catch to Rome. _

She rubbed her eyes, recalling the dream and what John had said about Rome. Rose remembered going with him, it was the last trip aboard they took together.

Dr John Smith was a great man who worked at the British History Museum. He often took Rose on his research trips and helped him track down new relics. He loved history. He just absorbed the knowledge, so much so that Rose made the joke that he was like a sponge.

He also had a gift for science but he chose History as his main focus but that didn't stop his from tampering with various household items. Once Rose came home to find him trying to build what he called a sonic screwdriver. He almost got it to work but he claimed that it blew up because she distracted him. John blamed her smile.

Their first meeting was a coincidence. Sheer luck. He was passing her shop and heard a scream. Being the hero that he was, he found her in a back alley just before she was attacked by an Auton. He instinctively grabbed her hand and told her to "Run."

Since then they had always been together, laughing, joking, seeing things that no one could imagine. Along their travels they had come into contact with alien technology that had crashed landed to Earth and they saved the day, thanks to his intelligence and Rose's determination.

While they were in America, they found an alien race experimenting on human soldiers, one of them being Captain Jack Harkness. They helped the officers to escape and defeated the enemy and quickly became friends with Jack. He travelled with them for a bit them until he took up the offer at Torchwood.

After being friends so many years, Jack pushed the couple to admit their true feelings and while in Paris, he proposed which she happily accepted. Jackie was not pleased to start with, since John was fourteen years older than her daughter but knew they belonged together. Over time they became civil towards each other and he gained her approval, but she made him work for it.

Things were happy for them, everything was going to plan but when they came home to visit Jackie, John got a message from Jack saying that he was visiting Torchwood One in Canary Wharf to see new alien tech that he would be transferring back to Cardiff.

However when inside, John overheard rumours that the team was performing secret experiments on a breach in time and space being led by Yvonne Hartman, so he confronted her. He discovered that not only had the team been studying the breach for some time but an army of Cybermen were coming through from a parallel world.

John, Rose and Jack fought against them, but realised that eventually a war would break out. John told Jack he could overload the machines and stop them from converting any humans and destroy them. But it was a great risk and he remembered his promise to Jackie. He would always bring her daughter home, safe. There was once to many times when he had nearly broken that promise.

John knew Rose would never leave his side, so while she had her back turned, he injected her with a sedative. Her pleas to him broke his heart as she fell asleep in his arms for the last time. He instructed Jack to take Rose away from building and back home. Hesitating, Jack agreed and said goodbye to his dear friend.

Jack was a couple of streets away when the building exploded, the noise caused Rose to stir. He didn't escape in time. But she never blamed Jack for taking her away. She was never angry at him. She wanted to hate John for what she did. But she just couldn't.

Rose sobbed as the memory pierced her heart. She clutched the duvet tighter, her tears rolling down her cheeks.

* * *

"Morning, Miller." Alec said, happily, passing her a cup of coffee.

She gawked at her boss but accepted the cup. "Have you been drinking?" she asked.

"No. Why?" he asked, closing his office door.

"Well in all the time we have worked together, you have never got me a cup of coffee." she told him, unnerved. "Ever."

"Oh." Alec sat down in his chair. "Sorry about that."

Ellie continued to stare at him like he was from another world. "Sir, are sure you're okay? Do you need anything?" Her face turned serious. "Oh, my God, is your pacemaker playing up?"

He arched an eyebrow. "No, I'm fine. The old ticker is fine. What's wrong with _you_?"

She eyed him carefully, suspicious of his behaviour. "You're all happy. It's weird."

He sipped his tea and shrugged. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Yes." Ellie muttered, sternly. "It's against the natural order of the things."

He smiled, which freaked his colleague even more. Since when did Alec Hardy smile? Ellie wondered if he kept it up, it his face would start to ache because he wasn't used to it.

She took a sip of her drink and chose to focus on the case. "Okay, well, we have a surveillance team in place ready to watch Torchwood members. We also have their location. They are staying in a rental cottage opposite a pub called The Beck. It's not too far from here."

Alec nodded, listening carefully. "Yeah, which reminds me I spoke to Rose -" Ellie raised an eyebrow and he quickly corrected himself. "Miss Tyler last night and asked her if she wanted to resume working together."

"What's changed?" she asked.

"We are struggling and it's not a bad thing to ask for help."

"What's gotten in you?" she demanded. "You never ask for help. You're Mr Loner."

"I thought it was Shit Face." he said.

"Ah." she breathed, embarrassed. "Didn't know you knew that. But the point is last night you were convinced they were the bad guys and now…."

"Well maybe I was a bit hasty." he lied.

* * *

Jack and Rose hadn't spoken all morning.

Where did you begin? They were both in the wrong. Both said things that were unforgivable. Unfortunately, both were also stubborn and wouldn't be the first to apologise.

Nevertheless, Jack was waiting in the car for her so they could drive to the station. He rolled down the windows to let some cool air in as the baking hot sun was trying its hardest to melt him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a familiar blonde girl trudge to the car. She didn't look up but Jack could see she looked drained.

Quietly, Rose shut the door as she got into the seat next to her boss. She crossed her arms and waited for him to pull out of the drive. Jack didn't seem to acknowledge her presence, his focus was out the window.

Rose tapped the wheel and said "We should get going."

Jack turned on the engine, still ignoring her.

* * *

They got to a crossing and a couple of teenage waved thanks as they passed. Rose sighed, watching them, recalling the footage she had watched only hours ago.

"Do we tell the police about the clip?" she asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it isn't relevant to them." he stated, coldly. Jack continued driving down the road seeing the happy tourists go by.

Rose glared at him, then sighed. She had lost too many people already, she wasn't prepared to lose another. "Why did you give me this job?"

"You know why." he muttered.

"Not really. You came to John's funeral, then left. I didn't hear a word from you for weeks and then suddenly I get a call inviting to Cardiff." No response. "Did you think it would make up for him being gone?"

"You needed something else to focus on."

"Something to take my anger out on." Rose countered.

"You were angry. Still are."

"I was angry at him!" Rose exclaimed. "Not the aliens, not the Cybermen. Him! He left me." she cried, gesturing to herself.

"He sent you away, there's a difference."

"We fought _everything_ together." she mumbled. "Seen things I could never tell a soul. My own mother doesn't know what I've been through—and then you-"

Jack glanced at her, his eyes warming. "I offered you the job because you deserve better. Better than shops, Rose." he told her. "You've seen too much, that's your problem. After he died, I knew that if you saw anything remotely extra-terrestrial, you would go looking. If I had you at Torchwood, I could back you up. You would be safer."

Jack scoffed, thinking of how much of a good job he did looking after the person he loved most in the world. "The Tyler attitude, so head strong. I've known you for years and you haven't changed. You've gotten stronger."

He gently placed his hand over hers, hoping to mend the broken bridges between them. Rose smiled at him, shaking her head. "Sorry."

"Me too. It's okay, it get it." Jack said. "You're tired. We all are."

"Great, big alien menace and we are still no closer to finding it."

The car turned into a side road to avoid the build-up of traffic down the high street. One either side of the road were small detached houses, but no one was about. They both assumed that they would be on the beach, enjoying the heat. Rose scanned the road, when her eyes fell on a mark on the floor.

"Jack, stop the car!"

The 4x4 abruptly pulled over pulled over to the side of the road, narrowly missing a recycling bin.

"What?" he asked.

Rose stepped out and edged closer to the mark. It was large scratch mark on the pavement, fresh and covered with blood. Rose raised her hand to cover her eyes as the sun blurred her vision. She sniffed the air, turning to the car to see a confused Jack and beckoned him to come out.

"You need to see this." she shouted.

Rose glanced around her surroundings, her eyes darted up, the sun bouncing off something shiny and sharp. Her eyes focused on a hooded figure standing on the roof of garage. The creature was crouched, staring at her, licking its lips. Before Rose could scream for help, it lunged at her.


	13. Chapter 13

It seemed like slow motion.

Like something out of a film.

Jack watched, terrified as the creature they had been so desperate to capture was diving on his beloved friend. The Captain reached for his loaded gun in the secure glove compartment and jumped out the car.

Rose's eyes could only focus on the sharp claws that were edging closer to her. She fell back to the ground, as the creature's feet landed, one on either side of her legs. It bent down, examining the possible breakfast in front of it when it heard the footsteps of her colleague. Jack raised the gun but the creature was one step ahead and teleported, leaving nothing but a shaken Rose on the ground surrounded by green smoke.

Jack examined the street, expecting the alien to appear at any moment. Eyes focused on the task, he called to his colleague. "Are you alright?"

"Brilliant." she muttered, getting to her feet. "So, that's the bad guy. Friendly, then."

Jack rolled his eyes. Even in the middle of danger, Rose could still find something to be sarcastic about.

"Rose, you need to be armed." he said, but it sounded more like an order.

Normally, the blonde would argue back, but she had seen what this traveller from another world could do to human flesh and decided not to take any chances. She ran to the car, keeping her eyes on the sky, in case it decided to drop in again, typed a password on the keypad on the vault in the back of the car. One click later and a semi – automatic hand gun was in front of her. Rose slammed the car door shut and then locked it, her gaze returning to Jack who was examining the claw marks on the ground.

"Where did it go?" she asked, holding the weapon in both hands.

"Back to where it was hiding?" he suggested, standing up.

"Jack, we have to be careful." Rose told him. "We can't start firing guns in the middle of a sea-side town."

Jack spun around to her, his expression was a mix of confusion and anger. "How else do you propose we defend ourselves?"

Rose shrugged. "Maybe we could reason with it?" She then realised how stupid her suggestion sounded and shook her head. "Okay, wishful thinking on my part."

Before Jack could give her a counter argument, they heard a low growl coming down the road, a few feet from where they were. Jack nodded to Rose, signalling her to follow him.

Turning to face the noise, they marched down the back alley behind the houses, guns aimed, ready for what came next. Jack had more experience with guns than Rose but she did receive full training when she joined Torchwood. However she still had never fired a gun while out in the real world.

John _hated_ guns.

He always use to hate it when Jack used his when they were travelling together. Rose understood why he did, he was protecting them. Sometimes you couldn't talk your way out of every situation, although John did always try, but didn't always succeed.

Wandering in front, Jack took the lead and in the distance heard children laughing. He peeped his head around the corner and saw a group of small boys playing football in the road. Rose lowered her weapon and backed away.

"Jack, we need to get back to the car-" Rose started before a searing pain cut through her shoulder. She collapsed to the floor, behind her was the alien they had been hunting. It licked the blood off its claws, loving the taste of fresh meat.

Jack aimed his gun at the alien, ready to shoot. The alien tilted its head, observing the brave defender, it's hallow eyes making him feel uneasy. Rose clutched her shoulder and backed away from the enemy, as blood soaked through her jacket.

"What do you want?" Jack asked. The alien didn't respond, but snickered at the Captain. "Tell me." he said, his voice louder.

"Jack, remember the kids." Rose whispered.

The alien pointed at the gun, then at the ground, telling him to lower it. Jack warily compiled. "Do you understand me?"

The alien simply nodded.

"Do you speak?" Rose asked, her voice stern as her hand clamped over the wound to try to slow down the blood flow.

The alien noted the girl's bravery. Not many humans could understand what she was seeing and cope so well with it. The alien assumed that was not a newcomer to such situations, which would make the situation all the more interesting. The human race were such a primitive species, just walking out into the sunlight. But even the young must learn who has the power in the food chain.

A deep, commanding voice came from the alien which shook the Torchwood dynamic duo to their cores. "Stay out of my way. Otherwise next time you won't be so lucky." It glared at them, then it's attention was drawn to the sound of laughter. Children running and playing as they should. It's hollow eyes warmed, no longer did they seem like the endless darkness but a dark shade of grey. The alien took one last look at the pathetic threat that stood before it and teleported away, smoke wafting through the alley.

Rose left out a sigh of relief, but then bit her lip to muffle a shriek as Jack tried to pull her hand away from her injury.

"You need to let me take a look. Let's go back to the car."

* * *

His glasses were resting on the end of his nose as he studied the computer screen. Alec's good mood had given him a better insight, and even though Ellie was avoiding the sun shining behind him, he felt as if they would discover the truth about the case soon.

But if he wanted to solve it, he needed help. Still convinced that Torchwood knew more than they were letting on, he decided that he should give Rose a call. He picked up the phone and dialled the number that Ellie found for the rental cottage.

He waited as phone rang, but no one picked it up. _She must be out. She could be on her way here already. _

The office door opened and a pale Ellie walked. He didn't have a chance to ask what was wrong when she thrust a folder into his hands.

"This just came in." she said, weakly.

Alec opened the folder to discover a set of photos of a stripped corpse. The body was petite compared to the last one, smaller bones, shorter limbs. A new victim. He shuddered.

"Have we identified the body?"

"Yes. It's Helen Jones." she said, her voice cracking. "Her body was discovered in her house by her own mother. According to the hospital she worked at she never turned up for work yesterday." Ellie took a deep breath, still recoiling from the gruesome images. "They rushed the results."

With his happy mood successfully destroyed, Alec stood up and grabbed his coat. His expression was blank, as he opened the door. "Let's go see the crime scene."

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." Rose mumbled, her grip on the chair handle getting tighter.

"Sorry. But this has to be done."

She hissed in pain. Some days, she really did miss the shops. "You think with all the technology Torchwood has collected over the years, they would know how to fix wounds without the use of stitches." The last word she yelped as Jack poked the needle through the skin again.

"Rose, keep still." Jack said, hating that she was in so much pain.

Rose and Jack arrived back at the cottage as quick as they could. He sat her down in the living room asking Rose to take off her jacket and top. He'd never thought he would say those words, and if he did, it would be a joke.

But this was no joke.

His jaw dropped when he saw how deep the cuts went. Rose needed medical attention, but had to make do with what training he had in the army. He couldn't take her to the hospital and alert the police. Too many questions and not even they had all the answers.

Jack fixed her up as best as he could and then rubbed her shoulder, trying to ease her pain. "Should have made you stay in the car." he muttered, more annoyed at himself.

"I'll be okay." She turned to look at him and gave him a small smile.

Jack sighed. "You're so stubborn, you would never listen to me anyway."

"Where would be the fun in that?" she retorted.

Both of them chuckled, nearly forgetting their fight a few hours ago. Rose hugged her friend and went back to her room, fetching a clean top. In the distance she heard a quiet beeping noise, and marched back into the room. Jack was leaning down, looking at the laptop.

"Trouble?" she asked.

Jack looked up, his face grim. "The police got a call from Helen Jones' house this morning. A woman – I'm assuming her mother – called in saying she had found a dead body."

Rose's breath hitched. "Is it her? Is it Helen?"

Jack didn't answer, instead he closed the screen down a little too hard. He stared at the blood on his hands, Rose's blood from where he had helped her. Jack cringed, not wanting to think about another girl he couldn't save.

Rose broke the silence and said. "We need to get to that house."

* * *

Ellie and Alec pulled up to Helen 's house, weaving between other coppers that were standing outside. Neighbours were standing the distance, making comments as their eyes carefully watched the officers. Police tape surrounded the house, forever marking its walls.

Alec opened the car door and wrinkled his nose. "I hate spectators." he whispered. Ellie followed him inside the house, ignoring the wandering eyes of nosy neighbours. They didn't see the black car pull up with the dynamic duo inside, more aware of the true danger that was lurking in the shadows.

"I saw her yesterday." she admitted. "She was heartbroken over Billy."

"Rose?" Jack said, worried about was running through her mind.

The blonde turned to him, her eyes colder than he'd ever seen them. "When we find this thing. I won't show any mercy."


	14. Chapter 14

_"When we find this thing. I won't show any mercy."_

Jack opened his mouth, unable to respond. He didn't recognise the girl sitting next to him. The stranger that couldn't be Rose Tyler glanced at him once last time before leaving the car. He gathered his wits, and rushed to join her.

Jack grabbed Rose by the arm, swinging her round to face him. "What are you thinking? I thought we dealt with your anger."

"We did." she snapped. "But then another innocent person died, scared and alone. I can't -" She swallowed hard, meeting his gaze. "I want to find this thing and stop it, before _anyone_ else has to suffer." Rose yanked her arm back, then marched into the broken home. Stunned, all Jack could do was follow, praying that the Bad Wolf would retreat to her cage.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ianto Jones had done something very clever... possibility life threatening and stupid, but he did it anyway. The team was running out of time, so he chose to ignore the very careful instruction of "Do Not Tamper with the Rift." set out by Jack when he signed up.

By using the rift energy, he was able to amplify the teleport energy signatures and was now able to locate the traces as they had become weaker, pinpointing the alien's movements since the murders had started. Ianto was determined to find to find the ship, solve the mystery and bring the one person he needed home.

He pushed his wheelchair away from the computer desk. Gwen was in Jack's office looking for something so he decided to take a chance. He carefully bent down and took off his shoes and socks. Staring at his bare left foot, Ianto tried moving his toes. He knew that Gwen said it would take a bit longer but with all the bad stuff that had happened, they needed something positive.

The struggling Welsh man tried to wiggle his big toe but nothing happened. He tried again, scrunching up his face, willing his muscles to move, but the toe was still frozen. Ianto sighed, hating that he got his hopes up.

"You okay?" Gwen asked, standing behind him. She had seen everything.

He nodded, but didn't turn to face her properly. He felt embarrassed, almost useless. A spare part that would be forgotten. He had worked so hard to prove that he still belonged on the team but was unaware that his risk was about to pay off and give the team a clue in the puzzle that would be vital to the planet's survival.

* * *

"Take your time." Alec said, as he watched the traumatised woman carry on with her story. The Broadchurch officers were doing their best to comfort Helen's mother, a woman who looked remarkably like her daughter, down to the same red hair as Brian and his team examined the crime scene.

The woman dried her tears with a soggy tissue, clutching it tighter as the words caught in her throat. "I wanted to check on her. She had just lost Billy and I thought she shouldn't return to the hospital so quickly. Helen always threw herself into her work, she never took a break."

The team had moved her into the kitchen, as far as possible from the smell that lingered in the home. Ellie made her a cup of tea and placed the only clean and yet flowery mug next to her. She winced at the choice but felt it was better than nothing.

Helen's mother took swig of the drink and carried on. "I found the door locked so I used my own keys. I shouted for her, thought maybe she had overslept. Then I found her."

Words that a parent should never utter. Both having families of their own, Alec and Ellie knew how protective someone could be other their children and couldn't bear the pain if they lost of one of them. Realising her fragile state, they left her with another officer and went to see the body for themselves.

Walking towards the stench, they found Brian in the bathroom taking samples from the bathroom floor. In the middle of the room was the mangled corpse of Helen Jones and just like her boyfriend, the body had been stripped clean and her chest cracked. Blood was dripping from the shower curtain and the tiled walls.

Alec stepped inside the room and examined the body, her limps spread out across the floor, almost like she had been dumped there. His eyes darted to the ceiling. _It's almost like she was dropped in. But how could that be? _

Ellie stayed in the doorway, as they wasn't enough space for them in the cramped room. "What do we know?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"Same killer as before… but this time..." Brian's voice trailed off, unable to believe the evidence. He was a man of science, but this was impossible. Growing impatient, Alec raised an eyebrow waiting for him to explain. Brian carried on. "From what we could tell the killer didn't strip the flesh from her body, not with a knife anyway, but bit her."

"Are you saying this is a wild animal?" Ellie muttered, shocked.

"An animal that size would be impossible, especially in this area. The only animal I could suggest to do something like this would be a wild dog or something. But even then it wouldn't clean the skeleton like this. There is no scrap of meat on her."

"Why strip the body? Is it a ritual killing? I mean are we dealing with a cannibal?" Alec suggested, kneeling down by the body. He was asking too many questions again which silently told Ellie that he was trying to make some sense of all the fragments they had.

"What makes you think it's eating them?" Ellie said, her voice rising as her stomach turned.

"There are teeth marks along the bones." Brian informed them. "We're just confirmed those on the last body, I was going to debrief you when this came through. They were hardly noticeable on the last corpse, but on this one, the teeth seem to be bigger and longer. There are indentions along the ribs, legs and along the neck. Which means…"

"There's more than one killer." Ellie finished.

Alec grimaced as Brain pointed to the marks on her bones. Holding his breath and placing his glasses on the end of his nose, he leaned in closer, careful not to touch the body, but clearly saw the marks where the teeth of whatever it was they were dealing with had grinded against the woman's bones.

"Can you give us a moment?" Ellie asked.

Brian nodded and left the officers to their theories. "This can't be a coincidence, can it?" she asked her boss, hoping he would have some idea.

Alec turned his attention back to what remained of the terrified woman he had interviewed not a few days ago. "Honesty, I don't know." He put his glasses back into his pocket.

"We should have done more." she stated, coldly.

"That would have wasted resources. Money we don't have." he retorted, trying to make his statement sound less harsh. He thinned his lips, disgusted by his own words. Ellie was right, they should have done more.

* * *

Captain Jack Harkness was in charge of Torchwood. He was the one that made all the tough decisions, all the hard calls that no one dared to admit but with all that came the right to feel a little higher than the police, to have a certain arrogance that followed him. He always was the one to tell the police that Torchwood was on the case but this time, the Bad Wolf was on the prowl and had already flashed her ID allowing her access.

Rose wandered through the house until she heard the familiar Scottish accent echoing through the hall. Her harden look made the police move out of her way and came upon Alec and Ellie stepping out of the bathroom.

"Rose?" Alec said, slightly alarmed by sudden and yet welcome presence.

Ellie's eyebrows shot up, confused by the sudden familiarity in his voice. _Rose? When did that happen? _

"Hey, Alec." she said, a warmer look appearing on her face.

_Alec? _Ellie thought, _what have I missed? Rose looked like she wanted to slap him the other night. _She eyed the two carefully, completely thrown by the first names basis being used. Ellie had worked with Alec for over a year and yet she hardly ever called him that.

She blinked, then regained her concentration when she saw Jack standing behind Rose. Thinking of the case, she led the specialists into the bathroom.

Rose went in first, and her guilt hit her like a blow to the stomach. She clenched her fist, stopping the tears before they slipped from her eyes. _Need to stay professional. _She took breath and let her eyes look over the body. _I'm sorry, _she thought. _ I'm so sorry. _

"Do we know anything?" Jack asked.

"Nothing." Ellie said. "Her mother is in the kitchen, trying to come to term with what's happened. I don't know if you can."

"I want to talk to her." Jack said, looking at Alec.

But the DI was focused on Rose standing in front of him. He wanted to talk to her, he was hardly listening to anything else. The look of sadness on her face was heart-breaking. She was taking this personally and it could hurt the case instead of help them. Without looking at him, Alec said. "Ellie, go with him."

The colleagues exchanged a confused glance before leaving them alone.

"Rose, are you okay?"

She didn't turn to face him, fearing it would break her strong façade. "I deal with this sort of thing all the time." Rose informed him, but not giving too much away. "But recently it just seems to be getting to me more."

Alec went to reach out an arm to her but retreated when she spun around to him. Instead he tugged his ear and softened his tone. "It happens to everyone. I've been there too." He offered a small smile which she gratefully returned.

_Rose… I need to tell you-_

Remembering her dream from the night before, Rose snapped her attention back to the case, ignoring her racing heartbeat.

"A…any sign of forced entry?" Rose stammered, gazing around the room.

"No, her mother had used her own set of keys."

Rose rested her hands on her hips. "You don't think that's a bit suspicious?"

"Yeah. I'm waiting to hear your opinion." Alec told her looking her up and down.

_"_We don't have time to play games, detective." She said, beamused.

"I'm not playing games, Rose." he told her, his heated gaze piercing through again. Her feelings were getting harder to ignore, she hadn't felt like on the spot since John asked her about Nano – genes. _Oh_, so long ago.

"The killer could have a set of keys, which suggests he or she could known Helen." Rose said, fiddling with her fingers. "Could be someone close to her, someone she knew? Maybe she let the person in? But then whoever this was would have had to have locked the door after."

But with the Torchwood agent knowing the truth behind the case, Rose had her own theory. _The alien can teleport. It can only teleport one thing at a time, so it didn't bring her here. It just dropped her here. Must have fallen from the ceiling. She locked up the house from the yesterday, ready to go to work, and after meeting me she must have been attacked. Helen would never have been able to fight this thing off. But why bring her back home? We found Billy at the cliffs. It knows Torchwood is involved, so it's leaving us away from the trail. I'll have to double-check with Ianto what the teleport signature from last night looked like. But it still doesn't explain why the alien would bring her here? How did it know her address? _

Rose pulled her hair behind her ears. "Where's her bag?" she asked, suddenly.

Alec raised her eyebrow, sounding confused. "Her bag?"

"The killer might have used her keys, if they didn't have their own set." Rose said, lying about her true intention. She needed to make sure if she was right. _Might be on to something here. _

He nodded in agreement. Rose walked past him on a search to find the missing bag. Speechless, Alec followed her, curious to where this was going.

* * *

Jack questioned Helen's mother but in her state of shock, she couldn't tell them much. Ellie told the officers to take her home and they would come to speak to her later. They watched her leave, both feeling guilty for letting her and her daughter down.

Once they were out of earshot, Ellie turned to Jack. "What kind of sick bastard does this?"

"One with no moral compass." Jack answered, coldly. He had seen his fair few of cold-blooded killers, both human and alien.

"Did Helen and the killer know each other? We talked to Billy's friend, Gary. He asked about Helen. We'll have to interview him again."

"Have you spoken to the press yet?" Jack asked, sitting down on the chair.

"No." Ellie said, surprised by the sudden change in topic. "We were going to release a statement later today, but I'll have to see what Hardy says."

Jack shrugged, then jumped from his seat when his phone rang loudly. He grabbed it from his pocket and answered. "Ianto, lovely to hear your voice, but I'm busy."

"Jack, listen to me. I've found the ship."


	15. Chapter 15

_Minutes earlier… _

With another dose of coffee in her hands, Gwen strolled towards the computer desks. "Well, that was a waste of ti-" She glanced up and came to an abrupt stop. The mug slipped from her hands and a resounding crash filled the room.

Gwen blinked. _Did he just…? He can't have? But that's impossible. Well, maybe not impossible, just a little unlikely. _

Sat at his desk, barefoot, Ianto looked at the fragments and then at Gwen.

"I'm not clearing that up." he told her, smiling.

Speechless, she pointed at his foot, staggering towards him. "How did… huh… when did…" she started, then cleared her throat, looking back to the office. "How long was I in there for?"

"Not that long." He gave a nervous chuckle. "Are you alright?"

"Do that again." Gwen muttered, kneeling down at his feet. Ianto shrugged at her, confused by her statement.

"Do what?" He looked at his foot and then the new hopeful expression on her face. Ianto finally caught up but returned to his work, unwilling to meet her gaze again. "You need more sleep."

"Your big toe twitched, it moved." she told him, unable to hold back her happiness.

"You're seeing things."

"Ianto, I swear." she said, holding her hands to her chest. "I wouldn't do this to mess with you."

"I know." he said gently cupping her cheek.

Sighing, Gwen got to her feet, not wanting to push the matter any further. Maybe she was tired, but she knew what she saw.

Nevertheless, Ianto was always the more realistic person on the team and as much as he would love to have believed her, his mind told him that Gwen imagined it. His muscles felt stiff and uncomfortable as he ran his hand on the sole of his foot. The strength was missing and for now he would be confined to the chair for a bit longer.

But however dire his own situation, he knew that he had to focus. Being distracted by something that could take a few more weeks was not worth it. So, when the computer beeped at him, he called the one person who could make a difference.

* * *

_Now…._

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, wondering if he had misheard him.

"I've found the ship's location." Ianto repeated.

"How?" He was desperately trying to keep his voice calm. Ellie was still standing in the room and as much as he preferred her to DI Grumpy, the less she knew the better.

Ianto fell silent. "Don't be mad… but I used the rift."

"You did what?!" Jack yelled down the phone. His loud voice rang through the room causing Ellie to scrutinise him. The Captain causally glanced around and gave Ellie his best innocent smile. Needing privacy, Jack marched into the empty living room.

"Ianto, I know you want to help, but using the energy from the rift is dangerous." Jack reasoned, trying to keep his inside voice.

"I know, but I didn't have choice. Jack, there's a disused warehouse about forty minutes away from the hub. It's where the alien went before it attacked Hallway." Ianto informed him, staring at the screen. "Gwen's getting ready…"

"I thought I said…"

"Jack, we can't wait." Ianto said, his voice firm. "I checked the tracker on the car, I know you are at Helen's Jones house. What's happening?"

"She's dead."

Jack ran his fingers through his hair, hoping to come up with any solution that would keep his friends out of trouble, but Rose's words raced through his mind. They chose to join Torchwood, they know the risks. He could sense they were getting closer and closer to the end of the case, but if something was protecting the ship, then Gwen couldn't go alone, but Ianto couldn't go either. Rose could leave Broadchurch for a couple of days but since she had developed a connection with the police that could be exploited, Jack needed her more than ever.

What other choice did he have? So, reluctantly, he gave in.

"Put her on the phone." Ianto handed over the phone and he was instantly greeted by the strong voice of Gwen Cooper.

"I need you to be careful. I know you can look after yourself but please.."

"I know what I'm doing." she countered.

"Call in with Ianto every half an hour and if he doesn't get a response, I'm coming after you. Got it?"

"Yes, boss."

He cut off the call and turned to see a suspicious Ellie standing in the door way.

"Your mother again?" she joked, but her tone was laced with a seriousness that Jack didn't want to deal with.

* * *

The Tyler women had a nosy streak in them.

Rose always blamed Jackie's influence but since meeting John, she seemed to have gotten worse. She needed to know everything, even something that was a rumour. However this little quirk did come in handy for the job. She always managed to ask the right questions.

Alec followed the curious blonde as she roamed room to room looking for Helen's bag, for reasons he didn't fully understand. Finally they came to the master bedroom and Rose wasted no time diving into the wardrobe looking for clues.

Alec waited by the door, intrigued by the theory that was running through her head. However when Rose bent over to reach something in bottom draw, he had to bite back a groan. _Why the hell did she wear those jeans to a murder scene? _

"Okay, Rose, I give up. What are you looking for?" he asked, keeping his expression innocent.

"I told you, her bag." she said as if it was obvious. She was sure that she just told him that. What could have distracted him? Rose tried recalling the day before and what bag Helen had with her, or if she had one at all. Knowing that she was beginning to second guess herself, she stood up straight and met the undivided attention of DI Hardy.

"If we find her bag, her keys should be inside. Then we know if the killer used hers or had a set of her own." Alec arched an eyebrow at her. "Trying to narrow down the possibilities." she defended.

Though, she was half lying this time, Rose was looking for Helen's bag and keys but also her purse. If someone was going to have a form of ID on them, it would be their driving license which would have her address on. If the aliens had looked through her belongings, they would know where the teleport her back. It sounded like a half-cocked idea but it was all she had at the moment.

Rose knelt to look under the bed and from underneath came her muffled voice. "Did you find any personal items?"

"No, same as the last time, no signs of any clothing or anything."

Rose pulled herself up, her search turning up nothing. She pulled back her hair from her eyes and sighed. Alec watched the distressed Torchwood agent tired of not getting anywhere. "We'll find them."

Rose turned to face him. "Yeah." But then she wrinkled her nose confused by the statement. "Wait… _them?"_

"Yeah, them." Alec clarified as if it was obvious. He'd assumed that Torchwood already knew, but for once the police had the upper hand.

Rose stepped closer to officer. "You think there is more than one killer?" she asked.

Alec nodded grimly. "Yeah, Brian and his team confirmed this morning that there were two different sets of teeth marks on the bodies."

"And you didn't think to mention it?" Rose cried, angrily.

"You were busy looking for handbags." he remarked.

Feeling her anger bubble again, the Bad Wolf was near to breaking out of her cage. "How does Ellie put up with you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Why are you withholding information? I thought we were meant to be working together?"

Alec crossed him arms, amused by her statement. "Like Torchwood isn't keeping any secrets?"

"Why are you being like this?" Rose huffed.

"Being like what?"

Rose opened her mouth but then swiftly closed it. Shakily, she stepped back, glancing at the floor. "I… erm… doesn't matter." Rose muttered, doing her best to avoid eye contact. "I need to talk to Jack."

She headed for the door, but Alec reached his hand to stop her, not wanting them to fall out again. "Rose, don't." His hand slipped into hers, gently pulling her back. Her breath hitched at the touch, his cool skin against hers.

A jolt of energy passed through them both, halting their movements. Both swapped bewildered looks, but kept their position. It had been a while since either one of them had felt this sort of connection. Rose shuddered, as Alec's thumb gently stroked the back of her hand. Her heart rate speed up and she tugged her hand back before something else happened.

"Sorry." Alec murmured, mistaking her response and slid his hands back into his pockets.

"Sorry for what?" A bemused voice came behind them. Ellie and Jack walked towards them. "Has he pissed you off again, Rose?" he asked half-heartedly, searching her face.

"No." she said, sheepishly shaking her head. _Quite the opposite, _she thought._. _

The sudden change of tension in the air alarmed Jack and Ellie, making them wonder what had been exchanged in their brief absence. Nevertheless, Jack had some important information to share with his colleague and he was sure whatever had happened Rose would tell him if it was important.

"Well, then," Ellie said, breaking the awkward silence, quickly glancing at Alec to check he was alright and seeing his usual grim expression, she carried on. "We need to get statements from the hospital and collect CCTV footage from the area. Need to see if anyone saw her leaving the house and what her actions were."

Alec nodded, removing the need to speak as he feared his voice would crack.

"Actually, I saw Helen yesterday." Rose admitted. "I bumped into her, she said she was on her way to work."

Rose explained to the astounded police the events that had occurred with Gary and Helen outside the pub. Alec didn't bother to ask how Rose knew about the Three Sailors pub. Jack must have told her after his meeting with him on the cliffs.

"You need to give a statement." Ellie said. "It will help piece together what happened."

"Speaking of filling in the gaps, why didn't you mention that you and DI Hardy believe to that we might be dealing with more than one killer." Rose asked.

"What?" Jack said, looking at Ellie's guilty face.

Ellie looked to Alec and noted the hurt expression on his face as Rose went back to formal names. Before she could defend him, he cleared his throat. "Our team has found two different sets of teeth marks on the bodies which suggests _whatever _this is, there are two culprits involved."

But instead of having the Torchwood agent scream at him as well for withholding information that is vital to the case like Rose nearly did, Jack simply said, "Huh, figures."

Jack turned his foot to leave the room, but then turned back, wanting to poke the bear some more. "Do you make it a habit not to trust anyone, DI Hardy?"

"Jack." Rose warned.

"You haven't given us a reason to trust you? We know nothing about you, not really." Alec retorted.

Both Ellie and Rose stepped in front of their colleagues, knowing that a dead woman's house was not the appropriate place for them to start screaming at each other. "Okay, now is not the time to do this, sir." Ellie protested.

Jack looked at Rose and then gave a quick wink, telling her that now was the time to leave. "Ellie, maybe we should talk later when the boys calm down." she suggested.

"Oh, I agree." Ellie said, taking charge.

The dynamic duo began to walk away, when Alec couldn't help but get the last word in. "What does limited powers mean?" he asked, knowing he had them caught.

Thankfully, Jack's quick wit wasn't too far behind. "I was referring to your police force." he muttered before giving them a big grin.

The blonde didn't have the energy to quarrel so she settled for shoving Jack out of away from the officers. They marched to the car and once inside, Rose's eyes darkened.

"You know, for once you could try to make our lives a little bit easier."

Jack ignored her comment. "Ianto, found the ship. Gwen going to find it." he said, turning on the engine.

"Oh. And in the meantime?"

"We find them!"

* * *

From the window, Alec watched the Torchwood car pull away. Over the years, he had dealt with some of the most irritating people but Captain Jack Harkness was the worst of the lot. Listening to sarcastic remarks was one thing but lying was another.

He gazed down at his hand, remembering he feel of Rose's soft skin and how much he wished he could repeat that moment. Lost in the sensation for second, Alec smiled to himself, until Ellie's footsteps brought him crashing back to reality. A reality where him and Rose seemed to be on different sides. If her and Jack were so close, did it mean she was lying to him too?

"Sir, are you alright?" There was genuine concern in her voice, she had never seen him like this. It couldn't just be because of the case, could it?

Alec spun around, hands on his hips. If Rose was hiding something, then it was his job to find out what or another family might be without closure like Sandbrooke. His stomach turned at the thought. He had to focus on the job and whatever feelings were burning for Rose had to be forgotten.

"I want to know their every move. Use the surveillance to find out what they're hiding." Alec said. "For better or for worse, the truth will come out."


End file.
